Things Change
by Ra Hatake
Summary: He saw her strength, she saw his power. They blossomed, and together, they changed everything. His name was Uchiha Itachi, her name was Haruno Sakura, and this is their story.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Late spring; seven years after Uchiha Sasuke left Konoha to join Orochimaru. Team 7 was getting older, and one of them wasn't satisfied with how things were.

Haruno Sakura; intelligent and strong, beautiful and skilled. 19 years old, already ex ANBU captain as of two weeks past. She thought leading a squad of elite ninja was her kind of deal…but things changed. After all, that was the beauty of being human…things changed.

The pastel-haired medic had nothing left in Konoha. The only people who were like family to her never saw her. Kakashi retired when he aged to 40, and Naruto was the sixth Hokage. There was too much going on for him to have time for Sakura.

Hell, his own wife hardly saw him. Poor Hinata was always at home now-a-days, taking care of their baby. Sakura was actually little Suirkus Godmother.

* * *

Naruto had become the sixth Hokage because Tsunade had been killed in a recent battle. Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke came to the village hidden in the leaves and killed many ninja. Their ruthless army destroyed nearly half the city. It seemed like the Chuunin exams all over again. Orochimaru attacks, the Hokage dies at his mercy. Konoha becomes Hell.

On the contrary, Konoha won the epic battle. The Sound army had been killed, leaving Orochimaru, Sasuke and Kabuto the only ones standing. Tsunade, Naruto and Sakura were on the frontline. Sakura had nearly beaten Kabuto to death, Naruto and Sasuke were both on their knees, and Orochimaru had the upper hand.

Sakura had bravely composed and performed a smart strategy in which she drew Kabuto closer to Orochimaru until eventually she could fight both. If it hadn't been for Sakura risking her life to help Tsunade, there would have been no change to save the fifth Hokage.

After a miraculous blow to the chest by Sakura, Orochimaru ordered his ninja to flee.

Many of Sakura's old friends died. Those that she knew were Aburame Shino, Yamanaka Ino and her father Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Choji. As well as her own teacher, Tsunade. Nara Shikamaru had married Temari of Sand and moved to Suna with her. When he visited and found that both of his teammates had died, he became ill.

Thankfully Sakura was a head of the medical core by this time; putting Shikamaru under a watchful eye until the color in his face returned. She was nearly the exact replica of Tsunade. Shizune even stepped down to becoming head of the medical core and said she would be honored to serve as Sakura's assistant.

Uzumaki Naruto, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Neji, Rock Lee, Hyuga Hinata, Shiranui Genma, and Mitarashi Anko were all priceless ninja that had been put in critical condition or were seriously wounded.

All recovered well, Naruto recovering the fastest as expected. All thanks to the Kyuubi. When released from the hospital, upon hearing the tragic news, the Elders held a meeting and two days later Naruto was dubbed the sixth.

About Tsunade now; the woman was in critical condition under only Sakura's care. For three sleepless days the cherry blossom stayed by her side and worked relentlessly to patch her up. However, the recovery was unsuccessful, and Tsunade died on the fourth day.

Entirely bewildered and cold after her teachers fall, Sakura began contemplating whether or not she should leave Konoha behind.

* * *

bleh. im not the greatest writer out there, and beliebe me- i know i suck at prologues.

ANYWAYS: this story is supposed to be a better version of CDKTC.

that fic was crap. ahahaha. so yeah, R&R.

ps. no flames please?


	2. Decisions

Things Change

Chapter1

"Decisions"

After a long hot shower, the medic kunoichi packed her bag with clothes, money, food, water, weapons, and a sleeping bag. She dried her hair and went to her closet.

In it was her usual attire. She dressed herself, zipping the red tank up the side. She pulled on the coal black biker shorts, and the khaki medic shirt. Tears began to silently fall down her pale cheeks as she pulled the khaki elbow gloves into place, and tugged on traditional black ninja sandals. Before wiping the salty liquid away from her glimmering jade orbs, she bent down to clasp on the matching metallic shin guards.

Sakura shook her head, short bubblegum locks flailing in a circle around her head. Making sure her kunai holster and weapons pack were tightly secured, the Konoha cherry blossom decided it was time to dismiss herself from the leaf village.

She stood very still in the living room for a few minutes, remembering where everything was. The coffeemaker on the counter beside the fridge. The shine of the granite countertops. Frosted glass windows in the dark cabinet doors, and the glistening white tile on the kitchen floor.

In the living room, the off-white sofa, and the couch where she and Ino used to sit and watch movies. The coffee table, medical portfolios scattered about. The crazy lamp on the end table near the couch, it always flickered, even with a new light-bulb.

Sakura laughed quietly at the memory.

_Flashback

* * *

_

_Walking down the streets, Sakura smiled and waved to all the friendly faces. Today was one of those 'perfect days' Sakura had been wishing for lately._

_The sun was out, brightly shining down upon Konoha, the birds chirped overhead, and there was a slight breeze. The air smelled of pure summer. The aromas of food and flowers infiltrated her nose._

_Another upside of her perfect day was her boyfriend, Kiba. Recently completing a dangerous A-rank mission, Kiba had been granted a month long vacation. He held Sakura's tiny hand in his own as they talked and laughed._

_Kiba was always good to her, protecting her with his life and treating her like tomorrow was the end of the world. He loved her, and she loved him back._

_At the moment, the couple was currently going to the hardware store to get a new light-bulb. The end table lamp in Sakura's living room always flickered._

_"Kiba-kun, after this little errand would you like to go to the park?" Sakura smiled, leaning into him._

_The male draped his muscular arm over her shoulder, never letting go of her hand. Kissing her forehead, he replied, "If I go with you to the park, will you let me take you out to dinner?" with a smirk._

_Rolling her eyes, Sakura laughed, "As long as you come back to my house with me and have some cake." She walked through the door Kiba held open for her._

_As the couple roamed over the selection of bulbs, Kiba agreed to her price. "Cake it is, then." The low chuckle rumbled in his chest. He picked up a particular bulb, inspected it, compared its price with others, and gave it to his girlfriend._

_"It's funny you know, shopping with you. You're very good at shopping, unlike other straight men." Sakura teased him._

_The Inuzuka teen grabbed her in his arms and whispered to her, "If you recall a certain evening at my house, I trust that you'll recall I'm straight." Kiba snickered and walked to the front of the store._

_He left Sakura bewildered and blushing. She quickly followed him, brushing her fingers roughly across her cheeks._

_After paying and leaving the hardware store, Sakura and Kiba raced back to her house to try the light-bulb. Carefully taking out the old, Kiba twisted the bright bulb into the correct place and set the lamp down._

_The pastel-haired teen flipped the switch, and for a minute or so it did not flicker. "See! No problem babe… just needed a new bulb." Kiba flashed his pearly white teeth._

_But of course the dog-man had to jinx it, and seconds after his comment, the bulb began to flicker._

_-End Flashback_

* * *

Un-knotting her headband, Sakura pulled it from her hair and tucked it safely away in her bag. There was no time to waste. She needed to leave now, while she could will herself to.

She reached for the switch, and her finger flicked it down. The lights went out, the moon becoming the only light. It was like her life in a way. The darkness equivalent to her old life in Konoha, and the moonlight acting as the tiny spark of life she's starting from.

Without another word, the Haruno teen stepped out into the peaceful night and locked the door behind her. Walking to her backyard, Sakura stood at the riverbank quietly.

She held the keys in her palm and watched the way they shone in the bright purple light. Taking a deep breath, she tossed them into the crystal water, and left Konoha.

The ninja traveled quickly, thinking of nothing but the small village between Konoha and the Village hidden in the Mist. She remembered stopping there a few times on missions near Kiri.

She was now outside the Leaf Village without permission given by the Hokage. She was a rogue, which meant imprisonment if they were ever to catch her.

Sakura smirked at the thought. Her imagination mustered up such a battle, nearly all of Konoha out to capture her.

Deadly thoughts entered her mind, beginning to mold her into what would one day be a ninja more legendary than any of the three Sannin.

Over the next four days, Sakura was certain the tiny village would make itself present at any given moment. It was about mid-day when Sakura's pretty jade pools set on the tiny village.

The corners of her lips pulled up into a wild smile. From her place on the high branch of a tree bordering the clearing where the village lye, Sakura leapt.

Gracefully landing before its gate, Sakura stood, pulling her headband from her bag and tying it into its rightful place.

* * *

yeah so... the next chapter will go much smoother i promise.

and i'm terribly sorry for the shortness.

Ask anyone who has read any of my other fics, their chapters were at least 2ooo words each. :(

sorry guys.

reviews are lovely. :)

-love.


	3. Sanhoi

ThingsChange

Chapter 2

"Sanhoi"

Five weeks upon entering the tiny village of Sanhoi, Sakura had picked up a daily routine. Every single morning, eight-thirty sharp, her 'alarm' loudly sang.

"Sssaaaaaakkkkkkuuuuurrrraaaaaa!" shouted her alarm. Outside her door stood Rin, a small civilian girl. Rin Hazani had been an only child for about a year now, who lived in an abandoned dormitory downstairs.

Nobody knows what happened to her father. Though the police believe that when he disappeared, the Akatsuki had been involved. However; there was never any proof. Rin never knew her mother, because she passed away shortly after her daughter had been born. Then…there was Akito, her brother.

Akito was a very good 19 year old Jounin according to the stories Rin told Sakura sometimes. He was also a very good brother…before he was killed in servitude to the village hidden in the Mist. He often came to his home in Sanhoi to check up on his little sister. He would play games with her, and take her out on picnics in the flowers. In fact, that was Rin missed the most…was the flowers.

This leads us to Sakura. Rin was so suddenly attracted to Sakura because of her name. She thought of Sakura as a flower, and thought she was pretty like a flower. Not only because Sakura was the only ninja residing in Sanhoi right now.

Rin knocked harder on the door, "C'mon Sakura! I want to go play in the flowers!" she hollered with her tiny fingers cupped around her mouth.

Unlocking it from the other side, Sakura opened the dark, heavy door to smile down at the child. "Good morning." Sakura yawned, turning back into her room. Rin closed the door behind her as their morning together began to unfold.

As usual, Rin clasped a hand over her mouth when she saw Sakura. Those pale, bubblegum colored locks stuck out in every direction atop Sakura's bed-head.

The small, magenta haired girl climbed up on Sakura's bed while her 'big-sister' went into the bathroom to shower.

Ten minutes passed and Rin could hear the shower finally stop sputtering out hot water. The thought of flowers made her face light up in excitement. Just then Sakura stuck her head out of the bathroom door, "I'll be ready in just a few minutes." She smiled.

Flashing a pearly white smile herself, Rin saluted, ""Yes Ma'am!" and giggled. She hopped off the bed and pulled open the curtains of the only window in the room. Sunlight twinkled into the room, illuminating its pale blue walls.

Moments later, Sakura submerged from the humid bathroom wearing a sundress that matched her sharp jade eyes. The top of it had tiny, intricate silver details too. Her hair was brushed, teeth sparkling as usual, and she wore her favorite pair of over-sized sunglasses.

Smiling down at the younger girl, Sakura grabbed her kunai holster and tied it around her right thigh, over a pair ofblack biker shorts. Though there was never violence in Sanhoi, Sakura could never be too sure.

"I'm ready, Rin. How about you?" Sakura asked sweetly. She laughed when Rin pulled her own pair of sunglasses from the pocket of her dress and slipped them over her beautiful, pale lilac eyes.

The young girl wore different colors than Sakura; she was also a much darker skin tone. She was wearing a short, orange sundress with a yellow obi, and little yellow flowers all over it. It was cute, and it made Sakura think of summertime. Her darkmagenta hair was up in its usual sideways ponytail on top of her head. It's short length sticking up.

The two walked hand in hand downstairs, and out of the dormitory. The sun was brighter than usual today, as expected. The breeze was blowing perfectly, making today one of those days where nobody could stand to stay inside.

* * *

A man in long, dark clothing walked down the dirt-clad street of the small town near his base. His cloak flowed behind him as he took measured steps toward the small store in Sanhoi. There had been nothing to make for breakfast this morning, and of course he was the one who was chosen to get groceries. 

His face was covered by a straw hat, with a string of beads hanging from the right end. '_It's really hot out this morning._' He thought. With a puff of his breath, he quickened his pace in the slightest to complete his errands without having heat stroke.

As he marched down the street towards the store he saw a familiar woman walking towards the same store with a small child's hand in her own. They entered just before he did, and truthfully, he was shocked to know who she was.

The many times he had come down into the village, he had never seen her. She didn't look like much; certainly just as weak as he had always assumed.

Something clicked in his mind, sending coils of hate into the pit of his stomach. Somehow he believed she was here in search for his Otouto.

He followed her into the store, grabbed his bag of flour, milk, and eggs, and got into line a few people behind her.

* * *

Sakura suddenly felt uneasy, upon entering the store. Something made her wish to run away. Her fingers itched for the hilt of a kunai, though she knew everything was under control. 

Thankfully Rin hadn't noticed Sakura's tension. Quickly, the two girls picked up their dango and green tea, and got in line without another thought.

The feeling that she was being watched crept up Sakura's spine. She rubbed her wrist against her holster under her dress, feeling the button unsnap.

Now all she had to do was pay, and reach for a kunai, no big deal. In haste, Sakura yanked a wad of cash out of her mini-bag and slammed it down on the counter. She didn't even want her change. Sweat forming on her forehead, Sakura whispered to Rin as she placed the groceries in her tiny arms, "Now take these back to my room. Lock the door, take the kunai from under my pillow, and don't let anybody in. I'll come in through the window."

The tiny magenta-haired girl became scared, and worry surfaced in her voice. "Where are you going? What's happening?" she pulled at the hem of Sakura's dress.

"Nothing sweetheart," Sakura patted her head and smiled as best she could. "I just have a few other errands I've got to run, and little girls aren't allowed to come because they have to stay home and read their medical books to be strong kunoichi when they grow up. Okay?" she laughed softly.

Rins eyes became bright, and a wide smile stretched across her dimpled cheeks, "I understand! Bye Sakura! I love you!" she ran straight for home.

Bolting for the forest, Sakura pulled her kunai from under her dress and severed the bottom half from the top. Quickly, she used it to make an obi, and she knotted it around her waist.

Sakura stopped on a dime near the edge of the forest where some of the farming workers were picking wild berries. Catching her breath for a moment, she saw the cloaked figure coming out of the grocers. This ninja knew her chakra, and he was following her for sure.

Watching to see which he had taken; Sakura averted her gaze towards the fleeing Rin, who was not being followed, and back to the spot where the man had just been.

To Sakura's surprise- he was gone! Not even a trace of where he had gone, except for the dumped groceries on the ground.

Feeling warmth from her left, she ducked just in time to avoid his grasp. She darted further into the forest, whizzing past several civilians, who cowered as they proceeded to watch such a strange event. Their only ninja, a kunoichi at that- and another ninja?

Such a sight was so alien to these innocent people. To avoid sacrificing the lives which were not needed, the pink haired woman ran fast and hard, in order to create as much distance between this battle and the civilians of Sanhoi.

Looking back, Sakura noted the straw hat was nowhere to be found…not on his head or in his hand. Her body instantly reacted with cold sweat at the realization upon the long back hair and those dagger-like crimson eyes glaring at her 50 yards back.

Fear poured into her soul, and her limbs grew numb. She was willingly pulling herself into a disadvantage. She did not know this forest… but Uchiha Itachi did.


	4. Resistance

Things Change

Things Change

Chapter 3

"Resistance"

Pushing down the cold fear that had began to bubble in her gut, Sakura swerved herself aimlessly to the left, then the right every few paces. Itachi was much closer than he was moments ago, and like a rocket he still gained speed on Sakura.

With a great leap, Sakura thrust herself from the forest floor onto one of the higher branches of an oak tree. She turned to face Itachi, refusing suddenly to let him herd her farther into his territory.

The pastel haired kunoichi gripped the holster of a kunai so tight she swore up and down that her knuckles were white under those midnight gloves of hers. Even closer, Itachi charged her, glaring bloody daggers all the while.

In spur of the moment, Sakura saw a flash of silver pass before Itachi and realized that he'd withdrawn his katana. Luckily, she shifted away in time…

The katana sheathed itself into the large trunk of the enormous tree deep enough to let Sakura bide her time for a second's worth of air. However; she had just made a rookie mistake. She ground her teeth in anger at herself.

Itachi, the real one, was plummeting down on her from the sky. Thinking quickly, Sakura flashed a smirk as she leaped toward the tree Itachi's clone was standing in. Mustering the great strength she concealed, the kunoichi uprooted the tree and hurled in into the air to block Itachi's counter.

Sharingan ablaze, Itachi used his Tsukiyomi, and dispersed into the air entirely. "Shit." Sakura muttered, barely audible. It was too quite suddenly.

Like _lightning_ he crept behind her. Yet she was faster than lightning. Sakura's reflexes shot her forearm out behind her to intercept a soft male hand she knew too well.

Onyx met jade. Sasuke stood in a silent façade, the side of his hand still putting pressure on Sakura's arm. As Sakura stared at him, onyx bled to crimson, followed by crimson beginning to spin.

Reality hit Sakura like a bullet too fast for a gun…this was Itachi's game. He was driving her into mercy.

Closing her eyes, Sakura began to put more pressure on 'Sasuke' and she began to push him away. Sadly, her efforts were futile. Over another push or two, 'Sasuke' resigned his resistance. He allowed her to push him until his back softly thudded against a tree.

Eyes still closed, teeth still clenched, Sakura angrily forced her fist into the tree next to the tree. Wood splintered, and from the puncture up, the great oak came toppling down in the opposite direction.

'Sasuke' cooed to her, gently tracing his fingers over her cheek, to pull her chin up. "Open your eyes, Sakura. Let me see your beautiful eyes."

One thin slit peeked up at him in a pouting expression, and the beauty of his face stung her heart to paralysis. Somewhere inside, the troubled kunoichi conflicted with herself to resist.

The stupid fucker played was playing his cards right so far. That god damned trademark Uchiha smirk etched itself onto his unmarred face. He chuckled softly, and continued to examine her. "Too beautiful to be a kunoichi. Fearless, smart, young _and_ strong? You can't possibly be the Sakura I used to love." The imposter lied.

"_Love?"_ was shocked, bewildered entirely. Her eyes became gently and warm, and she simply couldn't resist leaning against him a bit more. Her hands were subtly giving him the once over. Scared, well-muscled abs. Strong arms, and tight thighs. He towered over her by about half a foot she guessed. He was gorgeous. He smelled of forest and winter. Definitely _her_ Sasuke.

The bright morning sun twinkled through the treetops, small rays of light illuminating the imposters face. Bending to her ear, mirage 'Sasuke' whispered "I love you" into Sakura's ear.

"Sasuke…I-" cherry lips found strawberry flavored lips. His kiss demanded for comply, but that small brink of sanity left in her mind finally filtered a successful message to Sakura. _He isn't Sasuke._

From her holster tied tightly around her right thigh, Sakura reached for a kunai with one hand. The other sneaking up the back of the neck of her 'Sasuke' to hold hid head. She locked his head in place with her hand, but 'Sasuke' wasn't stupid after all. His hand slid from her waist to snatch the hand that held her kunai. Deepening his kiss, this imposter slowly plucked her fingers from the hilt of the kunai.

Sakura was beginning to wear thin. It was get rid of him, or give into him. At the moment, no matter how hard she tried, Sakura couldn't bring herself to take her lips away from his. He just tasted so…so, _good_. Too good to be _her_ Sasuke. What was left of her sanity finally sent a successful message rushing to Sakura's common sense. _He was not Sasuke-kun at all._

Faster than she had ever moved before, she wrenched her hand from his grasp and clamped her fingers around his jaw tightly. A smile perched itself upon her lips when she heard him grunt at the feel of a cracking jaw. Slow and painfully, she continued to clutch his jaw, satisfied with the art of breaking bones.

"I can play that was too, Itachi." She grinned menacingly. A wicked shadow cast from her eyes into the brighter sun.

Glaring through the fire of her advantage, Itachi released the genjutsu and dispersed into nothing once more. From beneath her this time, his arm locked in a death-grip around her ankle. With Sakura rooted to the ground, the hundreds of senbon from Itachi's senbon jutsu came showering down as a direct hit.

However; the real Sakura had escaped to higher ground the moment he disappeared. Much before the danger had even presented itself.

Secretly from her branch, Sakura spied the Itachi who which was a living, breathing, multi-cellular organism. Moving closer, Sakura decided to hide in his shadow, though it was faint in the scarce sunlight that danced in pieces around their little playground. Regardless, this was certainly a jutsu Sakura would have to thank Shikamaru for if she ever saw him again.

As Itachi resumed his search for Sakura, she leapt from his shadow and into the suns beam at the right moment. With the small, pink-haired eclipse plummeting down on him, Itachi lost his footing for a moment before Sakura threw a handful of shuriken.

One of the handfuls was a direct hit, nailing his right shoulder, which was perfect. His right was his throwing arm.

When attempting to land a kick to the shoulder, Itachi instead caught her leg easily and threw her against a tree, which she flew straight through, roughly hitting her back on the next tree. Her head ricocheted and whipped back against the tree as well. Unconscious as soon as her head hit, Sakura lost the upper-hand just as quick as she'd gained it, falling through sharp, splintering branches and twigs until she finally thudded against the forest floor. She was battered, and by the looks of it, broken.

XXXX

At last, Sakura awoke to stare up at Uchiha Itachi. Even better, she found herself, comfortable, in his arms while he walked silently.

Enraged, as she should be, Sakura blurted incoherent things like, "You little mother fucking piece of shit." And "Who the hell do you think you are, you can't just do whatever you want." But these things may not be her _exact_ words, per say.

"Mind letting me down?" she finally spoke up. Sighing, Itachi pulled his arms from her knees and back. Without uttering a word, he continued to walk.

Moments later, while Sakura stared in awe and rubbed her sore butt, she found herself being forcefully pulled along a few feet behind him.

"The hell kind of ninjutsu is this?!" angrily, she shouted. Itachi walked further still, rubbing his temples without faltering.

Sakura demanded an answer. "Hey, asshole…I said, 'Wha-"

"Annoying…it's a chakra leash. And I am not the one wearing the collar." His voice was monotone.

Slender hands instantly flew to her neck, yet Sakura felt nothing there. Not anything more than a slight tingling feeling. But; Sakura had eyes like a hawk. Good enough to detect a slight greenish-reddish discoloration in the shape of a line leading from Itachi's hand, to her neck.

Thinking she was smart, Sakura dug her heels into the ground and yanked. Itachi also stopped.

Reaching for a kunai, Sakura uncomfortably realized that her holster and pack had been taken.

Well, Sakura had been in stickier situations, making her recall the time during the Jounin exams when Neji and Kiba had stolen her clothes, along with TenTen's, while they were bathing in the waterfall. This flash of a memory executed a teensy smile to sew itself on Sakura's face.

Slowly, Sakura walked around a tree, hoping that this damned leash would break, though she figured it would do one of two things. She gulped hard. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Itachi's voice broke the silence.

Wanting to yelp, Sakura passed back to the same side of the tree as Itachi. She was incredibly determined to figure this leash out. She already knew it was created of both members chakra, and was incompatibly strong.

Stopping once more to grate her dirty heels into the ground, Sakura elicited her chakra, letting it sink to her feet and rise to her hands. Once she was no longer being dragged, all of the chakra she had left rushed to her hands.

Eying the ghostly leash of chakra, Sakura attempted to grab hold of it with her glowing hands.

However; nothing happened. She was fucked. She couldn't even touch the damned thing. Itachi then asked if she was finished, and continued to drag her along like a stubborn puppy. Just great, now she was fucked sideways.

Mid-day had come and gone already, and by the position of the sun, it was approximately one-thirty in the afternoon.

Fed up, Sakura sped up to walk by Itachi's side. On the other hand, she was surprised to find that she couldn't get very close to him either. There was some sort of barrier shielding him.

About time a light-bulb clicked on in Sakura's head when she sensed the spike of chakra. She learned that the leash acted like a magnet! Now if only she could just try and get close enough to Itachi to break the resistance between the magnetic pull. That would definitely cancel out the lock on the leash, allowing for unlimited distance coverage.

Pushing closer, Sakura's plan did not go unnoticed by Uchiha Itachi. Instead, he turned toward her and watched her for a second.

His Sharingan was blazing, repetitively spinning. Mid Mangekyou, Sakura rolled her eyes and scoffed, waving a hand in his face. "Honestly, Itachi. You give me too little credit. I've seen this trick a thousand times before; it's not going to work. I _can_ fight with my eyes closed, you know." She said.

Itachi gave no indication of an answer. "Didn't think so. You're just like your little Otuoto…I would know. You're a coward and you hide behind that all-mighty Sharingan of yours. Is that all the Uchiha clan is worth? Tell me, because I really don't see what the big deal is about your kekkai-genkai." Sakura continued to blather endlessly.

Of course he revealed nothing, but inside, Itachi was smirking wickedly, and this fiery little woman was quirking an interest in him. No one, not even his father, had ever said anything like this to him. It was fresh, it was new.

It was..._'cute.'_ he thought.

Her goal was to make his blood boil…to make this as degradingly painful as possible. Again, Itachi gave no answer, which was expected of him. Sakura then began to rant about Uchiha Sasuke, and how he was going to kill Itachi one day because even he, was not weak like his brother, standing before her.

A new, lighter feeling surrounded her suddenly. She touched her neck. The chakra leash had been released. She was free!

No…actually she was dead if he could catch her. Acting on impulse, Itachi's large hands were locked around her throat until Sakura burst into poison smoke.

Living Sakura, from afar, watching such an event saw even the tinge of surprise scattered on Itachi's face. The first emotion seen all day. Sakura laughed, "Making progress already."

Mockingly, she laughed still, because Sasuke was actually the one who taught her that trick. In spite of herself, she continued to laugh at him.

Suddenly, a kunai lodged itself in the back of her thigh. "Shit!" she growled. Another hurled itself at her. She wouldn't have time to dodge. It was either take the kunai, or the phoenix flower jutsu rising in front of her.

Dismembering the kunai from her wound, Sakura reached into her cleavage for a hidden paper bomb. There was nothing there, and a deep red spread across her cheeks.

"Itachi! You went through my clothes?!" she shrieked. Where Itachi stood, a grin danced around the corners of his dark lips.

When the moment was right, just when Sakura was in Itachi's blind spot, she made a single clone of herself. Clone Sakura held the bloodied kunai and stood on the sturdy branch, defensively dodging the giant fireball aimed at it.

The real Sakura re-animated herself on a branch parallel to her clone. Itachi's attention was directed on the real Sakura, thankfully. On her signal, the clone threw the kunai at the unarmed, live Sakura before discreetly disappearing.

Working her thespian skills, the live Sakura 'dodged' the rogue kunai the second before it hit her in the throat. She faked muttering the word, "Sasuke-kun." As she started at the place where 'Sasuke' was supposed to be standing.

Itachi noticed the kunai buzzing past her head, and he instantly read her lips. He raced in the direction in which his younger brother had supposedly come from.

Thankful for Sakura, Itachi had fallen for such a cheap trick. She used this incentive to heal the majority of her wound. She worked quickly, but not quite quick enough. Itachi was back in no time at all, anger and embarrassment flailing from his radiant chakra.

Leaping to the ground, Sakura continuously jumped back, doing flips and summersaults to avoid using her lame leg for now. Also, to evade the head on arsenal of weaponry Itachi was slinging at her. She even caught a few shuriken here and there.

She kept the newly acquired weapons, using them to stop Itachi from making the hand-seals necessary to use his katon jutsu. Her attempts her futile, and pathetic of all things.

Holding his katana up to the great fire, it became engulfed by its massive flame. After watching Sakura struggle to heatedly by pass the katon fireball, Itachi charged her with his flaming katana.

She fended him off with a recovered kunai. Leaping back a few yards, Sakura punched a great crater into the earth, erupting huge masses of earth herself, and uprooting hundreds of trees.

Amazed, Itachi just couldn't get away fast enough. The wreckage was constantly at his feet, no matter where he went. It was gaining on him fast.

He spied Sakura coming up on all three sides. Easily with his Mangekyou, he saw the real one before it struck. To the left, he swung his blade, and struck a gaping wound in her arm.

Sakura didn't have enough chakra or time left to get away from Itachi, _and_ heal herself.

As both knew it would be, Itachi came out as victor. Even Sakura gave up. Just before fainting of blood loss, she called out, "Itachi." And he caught her blood-soaked body before it hit the jagged rubble of the ground.

Watching such a beautiful flower wilt was such a shame. But he held her up.


	5. Of Darker Days

Things Change

Chapter 4

"Of Darker Days"

Waking in sensation of pain and comfort, one jade eye peered across a stone, windowless room. Slowly, Sakura's eyes fully opened to a terrifying, yet cozy creation. Discomfort obstructed the view of her left eye, notifying her that she was waking from unconsciousness.

Ignoring the pain, Sakura's eyes continued to observe the room, a guest room. No- a bedroom rather. The red tapestries and the fully stocked bookshelf were certainly not part of a guest room. Along with the wall-covering bookshelf, an appealing red lounge chair accompanied by a small table and pole lamp.

This room was definitely a bedroom Sakura could tell. The desk in the far corner gave it away. Against the wall, three small piles of scrolls were organized into triangular stacks.

Those green pools set upon the last piece they had yet to identify. The only difference between the furniture and this obstacle was that this _thing_, was actually a person.

A fire cracked and engulfed the roasting logs in the fireplace. Nestled in front of it, was the form of a sleeping Uchiha Itachi. He was curled up on the rug in a fleece blanket. The fire-poker was loosely tangled between his fingers.

Strangely, a small giggle escaped her lips. After, she lapsed into silence and just watched him breathe. As odd as it may have seemed, it was peaceful.

In her mind, she realized the one logical reason Itachi was asleep on the floor rather than in a comfortable silk-sheeted king-sized bed like she was, curled up in blankets of red. This bed she was snuggled into _was_ his bed.

It took some effort to swallow the fear beginning to panic her. Taking a breath, she quickly yanked the sheets from her body only to yelp loudly and recoil. She clutched at her arm, pressurizing the wound. To the feel of warm blood seeping through her soiled bandages, Sakura growled at herself.

Whipping his head around, Itachi yawned and calmly rose from his toasty place to stagger toward his victim. "You shouldn't be moving yet- your wounds haven't healed enough." He said flatly.

Gritting her teeth, the bubblegum-haired woman pouted. She cursed at him, and asked him questions. "Why are you treating me like this?" was the only thing rolling off her tongue.

When the man gave no reply, she tried a new approach, "How long have I been asleep in your bed, Itachi?"

He shrugged, sitting down on the edge to reach for her arm. Sakura recoiled, leaning away from him.

Grabbing her shoulder, Itachi yanked Sakura toward him until she was nearly sitting in his lap. He silently unwrapped the soiled bandages unraveling around her wound. "Don't resist me Sakura-chan. You've already learned that the hard way. Ne?" he asked- looking from her eyes to her wound.

Her eyes studied his, as he studied her wound. "Why have you been taking care of my wounds?" she interrupted their silence.

"Pein ordered me to watch over you until you were strong enough to care for yourself. However, he made sure I was taking extra care of you before your initiation."

"Initiation? Excuse me- but since when did I _ever_ agree to anything Pein said. For all I know, I've been out cold since I got here." Sakura's voice rose. She flinched slightly when Itachi tied her new bandage a bit tight.

He cracked a fake, crooked smile, "You'll find out when you see Pein this afternoon." Then; in a huff, he was as far away from her as the room would allow. "I'll be back." He said.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Sakura seemed terrified without him in her sight. She pulled herself onto her knees and she leaned toward him as he left.

Over the course of the break Itachi had given Sakura, she sat on the edge of the bed feeling increasingly more edgy and alert. Literally stopping her heart for a few beats, the door swung open to slam against the wall.

A short man grinned wildly at Sakura, licking his lips and shouting things Sakura couldn't comprehend until she focused on his lips. "…tastes like cherry blossoms! Let me at her, Itachi! I hear she's a real fine kunoichi! Just one taste!" he growled. This man was desperately snapping his teeth in her direction.

Sitting in absolute shock, Sakura didn't dare to breathe. His violet eyes bore into her legs where they stared.

Slicked-back silver hair began to come undone as he continued to launch himself at her. Sakura was more than thankful for whatever was holding this madman back. Suddenly- he was being chocked by something Sakura could not see. She wondered if it was Itachi's chakra leash.

In a flash, the demon had been yanked backward through the open doorway, and after one heartbeat of dead silence, was sent hurling into the wall opposite the door.

From the threshold, a silent, stoic, and brutally terrifying Uchiha Itachi stood. His fists were clenched and scuffed, showing his raw knuckles.

"Come kill me, _fucker!_ I fucking dare you to try it! C'mon asshole, give me a fucking reason to die!" it screamed. This explicit little bugger really did scare Sakura. Even more now that his face was beaten badly, bruised and bleeding in several places.

Faster than Rock Lee, Itachi was under the purple-eyed man and landing a kick to his lower back. The victim flew beyond the door.

Itachi walked to the door and slammed it shut, also taking the moment to lock it with the key hanging around his neck. He was silent, and he did not look at Sakura.

Instead- he kneeled by the pile of rubble as his painted fingertips touched the small indentation in the wall. As he scouted over the damage, Sakura came to. Apparently she had been holding her breath.

Uchihas keen ears picked up her sharp intake of breath, and he turned to sit beside her. She trembled, and she stared at his cheek. He was bleeding. This small amount of blood trickling down his cheek made Sakura's eyes well up.

_"What the hell is wrong with you, Sakura? Jesus Christ- just a scratch that he hardly notices and you think he's dying! There's no way I'm letting you cry over __**this**__ of all things. It's ridiculous!"_ Inner Sakura shouted in protest.

Sakura wasn't letting her inner take control. She could cry over anything she wanted to if she damn-well pleased. _"Hey Saku…shut up."_

There were no further comments.

As Itachi came to sit beside her, his eyes caught her staring at him. He also picked up on her eyes; they glistened with tears about to brim over. "Blossom, relax. It's alright. Hidan won't touch you." He said.

Instantly- Sakura's face hardened in confusion and defiance. "I wasn't afraid of that bastard…but you're bleeding, Itachi." She avoided his eyes with her additional comment.

With confidence, her hands slowly reached up to his cheek. Before she could make contact, Itachi's hand clamped gently around her wrist. "I can take care of myself." He whispered, avoiding her eyes as well.

The two sat together in silence for a moment before Sakura tried again. This time she actually touched him before he noticed. Though she didn't have much chakra at all, she had enough to heal this scratch. Very gently this time, Itachi held her wrist- but he let her heal such an insignificant mark.

Her green aura chakra flowed through her fingertip as she traced it down his cheek and over his lip slow enough for it to close completely.

When she finished, Sakura quickly let go and scooted away from him. He had been watching her the entire time with a not-so-happy expression. More confused and angry Sakura would guess.

Itachi stood up gruffly and suddenly the Mangekyou Sharingan bled from his coal orbs. "Sakura…" he almost whispered. "Why did you do that? As I made it clear earlier, I'd rather you not touch me. It was a scratch, get over it. As much as you may think I need it, I didn't. I don't need your help, nor do I appreciate it, to be honest."

By this point, Sakura was crying. She felt like she was being rejected. It just didn't seem fair for him to be so angry with her. She was just trying to be nice. She respected him. She hung her head.

When Itachi noticed the glimmer of the salt water running down her cheeks, he stopped abruptly. "What are you crying for? A shinobi never cries, or shows any emotions what-so-ever." He didn't realize exactly how angry this made Sakura.

Sakura squared her shoulders; and slowly lifted her head. "Shinobi Book of Conduct, rule number 25…not under any circumstances, does a shinobi show any emotions what-so-ever." She said with a strong voice.

"Correct, Blossom. You're-"

"Don't call me _Blossom_. My name is _Sakura._ I know the rules of the Book. So how about you shut the fuck up, Uchiha." She spat. Unfortunately- that past comment was mostly Inner Saku.

However, it was too late for Sakura to take it back. Itachi's ears had already heard it spewed from her pink lips. He walked toward her and picked her up by her good arm and nearly slammed her back against the concrete wall.

A sharp grunt escaped Sakura, as she gritted her teeth and winced. Her pride held strong. Those beautiful jade pools stared straight into blood.

Itachi made no move to trap her in his world of Death. Instead, he pushed his body against hers harder, crushing her between the wall and himself. "Why?" he hissed.

As soon as she could take a deep enough breath, Sakura growled, "Because I was being nice. But you wouldn't know what nice is, now would you? Because all your life you've been pushed so far into war that you never had time to be taught any sort of kindness at all. That's why you're so terrifying. You're nothing more than a weapon to anyone including yourself, Itachi."

Silence took hold of the situation. The man was taken completely by surprise. Neither of the two could help but notice how their breath's mingled between them. Itachi quickly let go of Sakura and left the room.

* * *

new update whoo!  
i apoligize for the shortness of it.  
but anyway; here's chapter 4. enjoy.  
iloveyouall.smile.:)  
Ra.


	6. Secrets, and Secret Lust

Things Change

Chapter 5

"Secrets, and Secret Lust"

X

A victorious smirk cracked its way onto Sakura's face. _"Saku, things are changing."_ She though. Her Inner smiled a wicked grin.

Eyes of pure jade watched the taller, darker figure stalk from the room. It was quiet. Quiet enough for Sakura to become uncomfortably annoyed with the _'tick'_ of the clock. After slow minutes progressed, Itachi had not yet returned.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sakura grew worried. Where was he? Why hadn't he come back yet? Hunger pains suddenly growled in her empty stomach…

On her unmapped quest to find the kitchen, Sakura held her breath. She realized shortly after leaving Itachi's bedroom that she should have wrapped herself in an Akatsuki cloak such as the one folded on the pillow where Itachi sat at his desk. However, having already forgotten which direction exactly she had come from, Sakura dismissed the suggestion, proceeding with extra caution.

Silently she slipped further down the twisting halls and corridors. Through her nervous, shallow breathing, she heard a voice. One of which she definitely knew. This voice made a smile stretch across her face and her cheeks flush. Sakura didn't even notice how his voice made her smile.

Creeping along the darker wall of the hall, Sakura saw still light flittering through a door slightly ajar. Closer, she snuck.

Peering into the room from the opposite wall outside the room, Sakura sub-consciously made sure that she kept herself a few feet away from the light at all times. She crouched, still as a statue, and listened to the voice, which was joined by another shortly.

After a few seconds, she saw a shadow. The shadow had long hair in a ponytail, and he was tall and lean. Obviously- this was the shadow of Uchiha Itachi.

The shadow spoke, "No, Pein-sama, I will not submit to this. The Bloss- _Sakura_" –he corrected himself. This made Sakura smile. -"She's not just any old medic Nin. She's the apprentice of Tsunade Sannin. She doesn't need to be put under your jutsu. She's perfectly capable of answering questions, and, shortly after I finish taking care of her, she'll be fully prepared to take the test."

Now- the other, scarier voice cleared his throat and spoke in a fierce tone to Itachi. This- Sakura didn't like. "I ask of you this, Itachi-san…why do you care for the Blossom so much? Why do you persistently insist that you personally take care of her? Why can't we throw her into the interrogation room and drug her? I'm curious as to why you're rejecting the normal procedure of a prisoner."

"I am not rejecting normal procedure. But you see; she is no normal prisoner. To me- she is no prisoner at all. I was raised better than that. She is my _guest_. I personally care for her on intentions that she may be more cunning than we perceive. I myself am interested to see how she handles Kisame during the test."

"_Who the hell is this Pein guy anyway?"_ Sakura thought.

The other man's shadow moved in on Itachi's, picking Itachi up by the color of his shirt. "You're lucky I'm curious about her as well, Itachi-san. But for your sake- she'd better be something extraordinary. If my interest is not satisfied, you'll be dead."

"You'll never catch me." Itachi spat through his teeth.

A loud slap cracked through the still air. The atmosphere became stifling hot and humid, causing Sakura's throat to catch as she gasped at the sound.

The shadow of her care-taker lay limp against a wall, wiping at his mouth.

Sakura was running. Harder than she thought she should, but she didn't care. Through steaming salt-water dripping from her eyes, Sakura luckily found herself back in Itachi's bedroom before anyone could return or notice her.

She threw herself onto the bed, not caring about the pain in her arm. Thankfully, there were no signs of blood this time.

She cried harder still, biting her lip until it bled. Her fists clenched in his crimson sheets, and her body tightened itself into a ball. It baffled her why she just couldn't stop crying over him. He was fine. It wasn't like this asshole Pein shoved a katana through his head. The thought made Sakura cringe, and heavy tears spilled onto her puffy cheeks.

A few moments later, Sakura settled herself. Her head felt heavy, and she tried to hard to keep her eyelids from closing. She waited until Itachi returned, and when she saw his face, she smiled.

She smiled until she saw the bloody, swollen mark on his cheek, and the dried blood in a tiny streak from his wound to his jaw. The dark-haired man sat down at his desk, leaning on his good cheek to read a scroll.

Almost instantly, Sakura put pressure on her bad arm to sit up. She winced, and shook away the pain from the reopened wound. She confidently walked over to where the man sat at his desk. She tapped him on the shoulder and held a glowing hand out to him.

Registering what she was asking permission to do; Itachi grabbed her wrist and pushed it away just a bit before stopping and hesitating. His brows furrowed together as he stared at the floor, turning to face her after a moment of silence.

Excited by his silent approval, Sakura sat on her knees and gingerly took his face in her warm hands. The odd colored glow of her chakra interested Itachi. This interested sense of his made Sakura's mind rush back to the scene she'd witnessed earlier. She scowled at the secrets they were keeping from her.

However, she let a small laugh escape her pink lips at the realization that Itachi lied to her. Pein never ordered him to take care of her, he chose to do it. She felt protected and safe by his aid.

Instantly- her smile faded and she bit her lip. The memory recalled Pein then hitting Itachi's handsome face later. Her heart felt pained at the thought of Itachi being hurt to protect her.

"Sakura…are you alright? You seem…upset?" his velvet voice startled her.

"I'm fine." She said as best she could.

"You're not. Tell me." He locked his eyes with hers, making no move to use his Mangekyou Sharingan.

"I said I'm fine. Just let me finish." She said again, her voice lacking the persuasive strength. She just couldn't get the scene out of her mind. The slap continued to replay itself over and over like a broken record.

Quickly, Itachi grabbed Sakura's wrist and pinned her beneath him within seconds. He was careful not to put pressure on her bleeding wound. "Tell me." He whispered in a hard voice.

Under a hundred million coats of red-hot blush, Sakura could now feel the sting of her wound. She averted her eyes from his, turning her head to the side and lying still beneath his body. "It stings." She said with a double meaning that Itachi did not catch.

With that trademark Uchiha smirk, Itachi gently put a finger under her chin, making her turn back to him. He bent forward, his lips just an inch away from his. "Well then, I'll just have to play doctor, and you can be my nurse."

Embarrassed beyond belief, Sakura jerked away from the sudden scorch where his skin touched hers. _"No, god-dammit! NO!"_ Saku screamed at her.

Itachi held her down, careful not to hurt her. After a moment or so of futile writhing, he asked her if she was finished. She nodded. "Good." He said, moving down to her arm, and pulling at the knot with his teeth.

"Stop, Itachi." Sakura said through tears. She didn't want it to be this way. She didn't want him if it was going to be like this. She wanted him to feel the same way she did about him. She wished that when he saw her, his skin would flush and he felt like he could fly. She wished that he _loved_ her.

"Don't make it be like this, please!" Refusing to be treated this way, Sakura used what strength she had and she shoved his body off of hers. Tears streaming down her scorching face, Sakura stood up, looked at his emotionless face with upset eyes, and ran into his bathroom. She slammed the door before he could catch her.

From the inside, Sakura locked the door. She propped herself against the wall, and slid down until her butt hit the cold floor. She cried. She cried so god-damn hard she couldn't see through all of the tears. She wondered why he was being like this. Why he was making this so hard for her.

Or did he really want her? Possibly he was going to wait until her guard was down, and then kill her. No- even Saku knew he was nobler than that. Besides- seductive killing just wasn't this Uchihas style.

For at least an hour, she had stayed in the bathroom. She fund a needle and some thread in the medicine cabinet along with some disinfectant. It didn't take her long to stitch up her wound for the umpteenth time.

Finally deciding to come out, believing that Itachi had calmed down by now- Sakura unlocked the bathroom door and stepped out. Back against the wall, next to the door, was Itachi. He was asleep.

Sakura didn't want to wake him up, and she didn't have much else to do. Looking around the room for an alternative to sleep- Sakura's jade eyes set upon the bookshelves and the comfy chair. She retreated to the far wall, finding a book on rare medical conditions that had the copyright markings of Sunagakure.

Settling down into the chair, she cracked the book open to chapter one and began reading. Only moment's later, she was asleep, curled up with the book on her lap, feet hanging over one arm of the chair.

The two napped in odd places for the next hour or so, until Itachi awoke to find Sakura in the chair. A smile crept its way onto his face, and he decided against moving from his spot. For minutes, he did nothing but sat and watched her sleep. He never knew a woman could be like her. Never knew a woman could be as strong as her, or as smart as her. Never knew woman could be as simply perfect as her.

The only thought that nagged in his mind was why she ran from him. Why she pushed him away. Itachi wondered if he was moving too fast, and he suddenly felt like a teenager on his first date. He was nervous, but he wanted to say something to her, to kiss her even. He just wanted _her_.

She made his face hot, and his thoughts blur. The fragrance she gave off made him dizzy. She made him want to be with her. Want to be with someone he hardly knew. But it didn't seem to bother him. It was as if everything she did to him, was what he wanted.

How was it humanly possible that Itachi was really beginning to love somebody? Maybe…someday, real love would blossom between them. A very faint thought in the back of his mind wished it would.

Again, the corners of Itachi-s lips pulled up just a little. He was smiling. Smiling because of Sakura.

* * *

  
again with the hella-short updates...  
i am sorry.  
regardless; here's the next chapter.  
to be completely honest- this chapter and the one before were originally one whole chapter.  
but i really thought it wiser to cut it in half.  
it was just too vague.  
iloveyouall.smile.:)  
Ra.


	7. Thoughts

Things Change

Chapter 6

"Thoughts"

x

"Leave, you're making her stir." A monotone voice whispered. Another- more rough and gravelly replied a simple, 'Thank you, Uchiha-san.' And left the room with the loud crack of a closing door. Sakura didn't move.

Silence filled the room for only a brief moment or two. "I apologize for Kisame's rude awakening. He doesn't know respect." Itachi whispered, bending down beside the bed where her head lay.

"Good morning, Sakura." He smirked.

The cherry blossom rolled over in his warm bed, groggily rubbing her eyes and yawning. When she opened her beautiful eyes, she smiled at Itachi, "Stop saying that every morning you creeper, it's freaky. Besides, it's not like you, _and_ it's annoying. You've been saying it all damn week.

After climbing out of bed, Sakura routinely shuffled into the conjoining bathroom the two now shared to peel away the bandage on her arm for what she had hoped was the last time. Just yesterday evening Itachi and Sakura had agreed that there was no need for a bandage by the time she would wake today.

"Itachi, we were right! Only scar tissue is left!" Sakura beamed. The Uchiha came to stand in the doorway. He leaned against the frame and watched her gently rubbing scar cream over the mark.

Her face was bright, and she subconsciously smiled while she washed her hands. She was happy. Everything about her seemed brighter lately. Her eyes glowed like the most beautiful stars when the two would converse in the darkness while they trained. She was getting better, becoming Sakura again. More gorgeous Cherry Blossom. Itachi liked that.

Turning her attention to the man who had been there for her for the past two weeks, Sakura beamed at him, her eyes never leaving his.

Itachi didn't know how to take that look in her eye. On impulse- he bent forward, inclining his head toward hers. Before his lips could touch hers, Sakura had taken his hand and grinned as she forced him to sit on the edge of the bed.

She laughed as she reached into the bag of cosmetics and woman items Konan had delightfully picked up for her a day or so after she arrived at the Akatsuki compound. From the khaki bag she pulled her bright red hairbrush.

Plucking the few strands of pink hair from it and letting them float into the trashcan, Sakura bounced onto the bed behind Itachi and pulled the tie from his hair.

"What are you doing to my hair?" Itachi questioned. He tried to turn his head- but Sakura held him fast.

"Shh, I'm just brushing it. I promise I won't do anything humiliating to you!" she laughed, beginning to gently comb through it with her bright brush.

Grunting, Itachi breathed a heavy sigh, "You've got some nerve, woman."

"Thank you." Sakura said, giggling like a little girl. She knew he didn't mean it as a compliment.

XXXX

That evening, Sakura was finally getting to do something she enjoyed. With her would completely closed, Sakura was now allowed to walk about the compound alone, as long as she wore an Akatsuki cloak and didn't go anywhere she wasn't allowed to be.

Though she was only allowed in the kitchen, the library, and the training grounds in the yard; that was better than being stuck in Itachi's room all day.

Itachi could now leave on 'Daylight Missions' as Akatsuki called them, instead of watching over Sakura day and night. Today he was running errands for that bastard Pein, and he would be back around nightfall.

Sakura decided to use the training grounds daily, and since Itachi left shortly after breakfast, Sakura had been outside training all day. At the moment, she was taking a break from her incredible training. She found a nice place on a high tree branch of the huge oak tree where she could see over the compound wall. Sitting there, she watched the sun set.

Surprisingly, she had no thoughts of even escaping. She actually liked it here. Though as the sun set, Sakura's thoughts spread to her friends back in Konoha.

Caught up in the realization of how big a sacrifice she was making, Sakura felt angry with herself for not wanting to go back. She would be a part of Akatsuki by this time tomorrow.

She thought about Ino, and all of the arguments she would miss about which ninja was hotter. All of the nights of endless ice cream and gore movies when Ino would break up with her latest boyfriend because of something stupid.

She thought of Tsunade-sama, and how Sakura would never have made it so far without her guidance. Sakura missed the motherly Hokage and the long night talking with her as Sakura helped her finish the engulfing piles of paperwork while Tsunade got lost in bottles of Sake.

Following Tsunade, were thoughts of Kakashi-sensei. Sakura laughed as best she could through the tears welling in her eyes when she pictured him in her head; reading his Icha Icha Paradise books while giving his new academy graduates his Bell Test.

Finally, her most painful thoughts drifted to the one and only Naruto. Her best friend, her brother, and her teammate. She thought of all the moments he would ruin by saying something he learned from Pervy-Sage. She thought of all the times he would treat her to lunch at Ichiraku's while she was on her lunch breaks. She missed him so much, it was eating her up.

For the rest of the hour, Sakura thought about the bonds she was about to sever in the morning. She thought long and hard, deciding at long last that she would not give up at least. If she came this far, she would overcome.

Of course Sakura was near mortified to become Akatsuki, and to take these strange tests Itachi had told her about. She would fight until she was the last one alive if she had to, but she would surpass. Sakura decided it was time for more difficult, vigorous, and violent training.

As the night crept on for endless hours, more tears continued to sting her eyes, and the sounds of loud cracking made themselves present, Itachi came into view.

Sakura didn't stop to smell the roses. She kept kicking and punching, and moving, and panting. Itachi had seen her fight first-hand, and this was a higher level of training than he believed she was capable of. "Are you alright?" he asked, leaning against a wooden dummy-post a few feet away from her.

Sakura moved so fast Itachi never saw her. She disappeared from his sight completely, only to re-animate behind him.

She gritted her teeth, "I'm fine." A sharp breaking sound rang loudly in his ears as the dummy-post he was leaning on broke in half.

Sakura, panting, re-appeared again by the tree, standing- but bent over with a hand against the tree she was recently attacking. Her breath was fast, and Itachi could see the tiny shining droplets falling from her face while she sobbed.

Itachi sensed her falling, and ran to her. He caught her just before she hit the ground, and she lay there in his arms, wailing.

"…Sakura." He whispered, pulling her against his chest and caressing her hair. She gritted her teeth, wishing so much to stop the memories in her head. The thoughts of her _forgotten_ friends.

The Uchiha sat silently for several minutes until her sobbing ceased. When she finally looked up at him, he gently wiped the tears from her face with his thumb. "Its okay, Sakura. It's okay, I promise."

He was no baka. Itachi knew why she was so upset. Of course she was thinking of _them_, and surely she was overwhelmed. "I-Itachi, I'm sorry! I'm sorry I've been so foolish! I'm sorry I've been such a baby, I promise I won't do it again." Sakura whispered, getting up from his lap.

Upset with her for thinking such a thing, Itachi grabbed her wrist before she was out of his reach and lightly yanked her back to him.

His lips crashed to hers with a fire he never knew he had. He was relieving the weight on his shoulders. He kissed her hard, and breathlessly.

Uneasy, Sakura fell into him again, allowing him to indulge himself the way she had wanted him to. He pulled back, panting, and he pulled her to his chest, tightening his grip. "Don't ever apologize for something like that again. You did nothing wrong." He whispered.

For once in her life, Sakura was happy to see Uchiha Itachi. He moved to get up, and he pulled Sakura onto his back. For the both of them, it was time for bed. It was getting late.

Sakura had washed off, and was crawling into Itachi's bed, to see him making himself comfortable in the lounge chair. As the scene sometimes did, it made Sakura want to ask him to come to bed with her. The bed _was_ big enough, after all.

It just so happened that tonight- she was brave enough. "Um, I-Itachi…would you like to sleep in your bed with me tonight?" Sakura blushed, but held her gaze on his eyes.

Smiling just a little, Itachi slowly got up from the chair, folding the fleece over the back of it. Taking Sakura's hand, Itachi flicked off the lights and crawled into the bed with her.

Sakura, never wanting this moment to end, curled up against his back and yawned, closing her eyes with a smile.

Itachi, did the same.

* * *

yeah. i PWN.  
i definately updated four chapters all together today.  
:) one for DESERTED, three for Things Change.  
so be happy with what i've dome for now.  
oh and btw; here's the next intense chapter.  
bwahahahah.  
iloveyouall.smile.:)  
Ra.

updates would be lovely, my loves.


	8. Unhinged

Things Change

Chapter 7

"Unhinged"

Green eyes flickered to a glow in the moonlight as Sakura opened her eyes. There she lay, quiet and prepared to start her day, but something, more like someone, was holding her body frozen. Her small breaths moved the dark bangs covering his eyes, and she smiled. Sakura's heart was filled to the brim with butterflies, remembering last night as her cheeks flushed.

Itachi slept silently and still, appearing peaceful, though before these past few days Sakura couldn't have imagined the word 'peace' and the name 'Uchiha Itachi' having anything in common. Again, a smile broke through her pale face, illuminated in the small light. Brushing her own bangs behind her ear, she leaned down and gently pressed her soft lips to his cheek, and she watched him stir.

His eyes flitted open and he too, smiled. Strong jaws stretched open to a silent yawn, and his hand scouted for hers until their fingers were tangled. Both locked eyes for a moment before Sakura turned and rose from the toasty sheets. Itachi's eyes followed her dark silouhette.

XXXX

The sun was hot, and birds flew over the training battlefield where a lone kunoichi stood against a blue man twice her size at least. His sharp teeth grinned wildly at her, and her knuckles clenched to bony white.

"Sakura-chan, please tell me the purpose of your initiation." Lord Pein stood on the outer ring of the packed dirt where the other members of Akatsuki were scattered. The rings of fire that made up his eyes watched her carefully, noticing every expression she made.

Sakura locked eyes with him, dousing the fire with jade. She hollered across the field, "To test my intelligence, chakra level, endurance, strength, cunning, speed and moxie...Sir." she grinned.

"And the rules of this match..." he asked approvingly.

She pointed her finger toward Kisame, "To take out Hoshigaki Kisame within the time limit and boundaries before he can take me down." Sakura swallowed hard.

Pein smiled, and asked her now only to explain the rule of disqualification to him of her match. The kunoichi's face turned sour. "I cannot kill him."

"Good. You many begin." Lord Pein waved his fingers and returned to his seat aside Konan.

Before Sakura could comprehend the fight had began, a loud crack rang in her ear and a pain like no other shot through her cheek. Her hair was flailing back until she hit the stone wall bordering the yard. Kisame stood where she was before with a victorious grin on his face.

Itachi's hand clenched around the branch of the tree he was crouched on.

A moment after the wall had crumbled slightly, Sakura emerged with a broken jaw. Her hand was glowing green as she smiled. The skin repaired itself faster than the average medical ninja could. "Ow." she said, and in a whirl of Sakura petals, she was gone.

A light breeze caressed the scales on Kisame's face, and he jerked away at it's touch too quickly. _'THWACK!'_ The fish giant timbered, digging up dirt with his face. Again, Sakura was gone.

Blue man jumped to his feet, pulling Samehada from it's wrappings and weilding it before him in defense. "Come out come out where ever you are, Sa-ku-ra." he cooed. The sound of someone stepping on water made him turn to face the small pool of rainwater behind him. A ghost of laughter aroused his hands to form the signs for his own _"Quick Sand Justu"_. "Earth Style: Quick Sand Justu!"

Another ghost of laughter from the trees, and suddenly Sakura was there again, about three feet behind him and to the right. In her hand was a kunai, which she threw at him in rage. "Dammit." Sakura hissed.

"Got-cha kitten." Kisame smirked, heaving Samehada over his form. Before the sword could plummit to Sakura's doom, something interrupted Kisame's balance.

"More like _I've_ got _you_, Kisame." Sakura was standing completely on the tip of Samehada when she pushed off into the air. Flipping backward to the ground gracefully, Sakura charged Kisame head on. Grabbing Samehada by the handle, Sakura jolted backward with a shock to her hand. "Piss." she breathed. Her hand began to glow, and when she focused it to the pain, nothing happened except an intensified throbbing.

"Ha ha ha!" Kisame bellowed in his deep voice. "There's not a soul who walks among the living who has ever been unharmed by touching Samehada, except for me." again he mocked and laughed at her.

Sakura hissed, noting to stay with long ranged attacks from now on. Shit, that took away her best offense. She could no longer crush his skull between her hands, not that she was allowed to in the first place. Switching to defensive position, Sakura ran head on toward him, lowering her body so close to the ground she could have been floating.

Before the two could collide, Sakura punched the Earth hard with her fist, creating jagged, sharp uprisings of rock, like sharp daggers angled toward Kisame. He couldn't stop without running straight into them, which would be suicide. The small crowd of spectators watched Sakura in awe. She really was as good as Itachi had told them, in spite of himself.

The sacrifice made was Samehada. Kisame dug it into the ground just inches before the rocks, and polevolted himself over them, tumbling onto the ground.

"Earth style: Earth prizon jutsu!" Sakura shouted, hands flying into complicated signs. Lucky for her Earth was her element, and ninjutsu worked well for her enduring chakra. Pieces of the ground shot up around Kisame before he could stand up completely, and he lost his footing as the dirt floor trembled beneath him. It wrapped him in a constricting cocoon.

Sakura lunged at him again, "Kage bunshin." she spat.

Eleven clones of herself shot around Kisame, and the tall shark didn't know which was the real one. Unfortunate for him, genjutsu wasn't exactly something he was powerful at detecting.

Each clone held a kunai, and began to run wicked fast circles around him. The real Sakura was hidden amongst them, with the knowledge that his Samahada had no long ranged attack. On her mark, the clones threw their kunai in the opposite direction, careful not to directly hit Kisame in the process.

When each was finished, they dispersed into bursts of cherry blossom petals again.

"Shit." Kisame growled, figuring out her plan. His head whipped around to see all of the kunai were planted in the dirt in a large circle around him. "No! You will not win, Haruno-chan! Do you hear me!?" he roared and thrashed relentlessly, yet the chakra bonds attached to the kunai held him in place. He wasn't going anywhere with the web-like design holding him in the dead center like a big blue target.

Sakura laughed, launching herself into the air above him. "Senbon Rain jutsu!" she hollered, twirling herself around and around while senbon came down like rain over Kisame. He did not have Samehada to deflect them, as Sakura had planned.

When she was finished with her Senbon Rain, Sakura nearly collapsed onto the ground, tired from the intense battle. A smile crept it's way onto her face however, for she was the victor of her first match. She could rest for the remainder of the day, and she would move on to face someone tomorrow in match two.

Clapping rose from the audience, and Kisame sat in the dirt like a puffer fish, senbon sticking to him everywhere. "Though I lost, good job out there Haruno-chan, I underestimated your abilities as a ninja." he pouted, faking a smile.

Lord Pein silenced the clapping spectators with a wave of his hand, "Well done, well done indeed Sakura-chan. You have passed the first test, and tomorrow you shall move on to face a new opponent in the second match. Rest for tonight." he nodded toward her.

The majority of the other Akatsuki gave Sakura high-fives of smiled at her victory. Itachi was one of the last memebers leaving the grounds, but he never looked at Sakura. Curiously, she caught up with him, tugging gently on his arm.

"Hey, Itachi, are you mad at me or something?" Sakura asked. He still didn't turn to look at her. He completely ignored her. Gently, he shook off her arm and walked away quickly. She was left standing alone and without a cloak by the kitchen. Deidara-san was rummaging through the refrigerator for something.

Sakura puffed a breath of air and sat down at the long dinner table. Deidara noticed her sorrowful expression, and placed a small clay bird and an apple on the table beside her when he walked by. Again, she was left alone.

At first she didn't notice the bird, but then it started to move. _"Chirp, chirp chirp."_ it noised, prodding the apple in her direction. Sakura smiled gently, "Thank you." she whispered, and the bird exploded into a tiny firework. Deidara was sweet from what she could tell, and she would have to thank him later for sure. She picked up her apple and left.

Spending the rest of the daylight hours reading book from the library outside, Sakura decided to return the books when dusk came. Stretching her limbs, she went back to the library, and her thoughts floated back to Itachi when she placed one of the books back on the shelf. Itachi had the same book in his massive collection, and it was a good read.

"That's it, I'm going to find out what his deal is. Ignoring me all day." she mumbled to herself. Stalking back to she and Itachi's bedroom, she found him reading a book in his big red comfy chair by a lit fire. He was wearing glasses, and Sakura could tell he was thinking hard, his fingers rubbing his temple on one side of his head.

"Itachi..." she interrupted. His eyes instantly became cold and distant. Sakura didn't like this side of Itachi. "What's going on with you...with, _us_..." she asked quietly.

Itachi tried to ignore her again, but she stopped him. She walked to him silently, closing the book and taking it from him. Obsidian eyes looked toward the fire, and he said nothing. But that wasn't going to work, not again. Sakura moved to sit on his knee, and she curled up against him.

"Get lost." he whispered in a dark tone. Sakura's head snapped up to look at him, and his eyes scared her. They were so dark, she couldn't see anything in them. So dark not even the hate within them made itself present.

"No." Sakura demanded. "What is your problem? You've been avoiding me all day." she reminded him sternly.

Itachi pushed her off of him roughly, and her butt hit the floor. "I said: Get lo-" he was cut short by Sakura's growl.

She stood up again, "I don't care what you said, Itachi! I want to know what is wrong with you!" she yelled now.

"Don't raise your voice at me." Itachi hissed. He was dangerous, but he knew all too well that so was she.

Sakura stepped closer, "I'll raise my voice if I want to! It's your fault for not telling me!" she interjected with angry hand motions. Itachi ground his teeth together.

"I'm not going to tell you! So shut your mouth!" he hollered back at her. His hand roughly grabbed her arm.

Sakura winced at his strength. "Let go of me!" she screeched.

"No." he barked, yanking her toward the door though she protested. He held her bad arm.

"Itachi sto-!" Sakura moaned in pain.

The door to the Uchiha's room flew open and hit the wall with a bang. The hallway was empty except for Zetzu-san walking by with Tobi-san. "Shut up!" he raised his voice at her. Sakura was confused why he was so angry with her, she did nothing wrong. Her eyes welled with tears.

Finally she cried,"Itachi stop! Let go of me! Itachi, let go, please! You're hurting me!" Her pained scream broke his anger. He actually looked at her this time with his own eyes, rather than blind rage. Her arm was losing blood, she was crying, and she was terrified...she was terrified of _him_ of all things. He couldn't feel any worse.

Itachi's hand instantly let go of her arm, and he gently pulled her back into the room without haste, closing and locking the door behind him. He set Sakura down on the bed, and she still cried, cowering into a ball away from him. The Uchiha felt sick, and he curled around Sakura, though she whimpered when he came closer, trying to get away still.

"I'm sorry." he touched her back.

"You're a bastard." she sobbed. Sakura's tears were drying up, and she stopped crying, but she still did not turn to face him.

"I'm sorry." he whispered again, lying down beside her, careful not to touch her. "I didn't mean to get out of hand, I just..." he couldn't find the words.

Sakura roled over, peeking one puffy eye at him, "All I asked is to know why you avoided me until I made you mad."

Itachi mumbled something inaudible to her hidden ears.

"I didn't quite catch that..." she said.

"I said: I know you wouldn't accept, so I kept it to myself." Itachi cleared his throat, turning his head away from her now. Sakura didn't know why, but she did know that he wasn't avoiding her, but just a question or something like that.

The pinkette uncurled herself, stretching a hand to lay on his bare chest. She inched closer to him, "What wouldn't I accept?" she asked innocently.

Itachi ignored her again. "Hey now, let's not get to fighting again, what aren't you asking me to accept, Itachi-kun?" Sakura rested her chin on his shoulder, pouting her lips.

"Me." he said, and Sakura didn't quite understand what he meant by the word.

"What do you mean?" She questioned, curious.

Faster than lightning, Itachi rolled on top of her, capturing her lips with his own. His fingers curled around the sheets and he waitied for the sharp pain of a slap to the face.

The only thing that happened was Sakura's hand clenching the sheets as well, her back arching into him with a moan and her sudden heavy breathing when he pulled away from her. "You think I wouldn't accept _you_?" Sakura smiled, searching his eyes again for the warmth she knew was deep inside of them. Deeper than the hate.

Itachi stopped holding his breath, thankful for her acceptance. "I was avoiding you because I _want_ you. I didn't think you would accept it if I told you, so I avoided the possibility." he explained.

"Silly boy." Sakura whispered, pulling him back down for another breathtaking kiss. Their passion mastered the fire burning in the room. Itachi's fingers trailed up her side until they found the zipper of her shirt, slowly pulling it down. Blackberry lips planted kissed down her jaw, to her neck, over her chest and down to her stomach.

Perfectly manicured green-nailed fingers left goosebumps down the Uchiha's chest to the string of his sweat pants, "Hurry." she moaned in protest to his playful teasing.

Turns out Uchiha and Cherry Blossoms were on the menu tonight...

* * *

new chapter, hopefully you like it. :)  
my writing has been way off lately due to my hard drive crashing for three weeks, and a mess of other unforunate events.  
anyway, 4th marking period starts this wednesday. damn.  
that means school is almost over, and i'll have ample time to update.

anyway, new NaruSaku fic called "Purple Hearts."  
r&rs on an of my stories (especially "Reaching the End of the Road") would be wonderful.  
ps: hahahaha, lemon cliff-hanger. :D  
Im so mean, I know.

love, Razega.


	9. Burning

Things Change  
Chapter 8  
"Burning"

Waking up the next morning was much harder than Sakura would have ever dreamed. Swimming to the surface of consciousness, Sakura snuggled closer to the source of warmth in the bed, and it made a sleepy sound.

Laying there next to her was Itachi, her newfound lover. Sakura couldn't help but smile, recalling the previous night's events in her head. Her cheeks reddened. Deciding against waking him up, Sakura took in the chance to watch him.

A faint light was trinkling in from the window overhead, and the curve of Itachi's body was enhanced by it. Sakura stared in awe at his beautiful skin, and his strong biceps making hills down his arm. The slope into his neck, the rise and fall of his chest, which was covered with a light dusting of chocolate hair. She drank in his lean form, and his dark hair scattered across the pillow under his head. It looked like a rare and beautiful stone the way it shone in the bluish-white light. Her eyes drifted over his face, admiring the straight line of his jaw, and his generously full lips, straight nose, and those beautiful, settling red eyes.

Those red eyes, which were watching her etch his form into her brain immortally. "Hello." His lips opened, and came towards her. She didn't back away, but closed her eyes and welcomed their warmth, and the fire it birthed right in her belly. A slow lava sort of burn.

When they parted for air, Sakura grinned. Itachi let out a gust of air, and looked up into the window light. Again Sakura memorized his body like art, and she continued to watch in amazement as he proceeded to throw the comforter off of his naked form and stand.

Itachi knew she was staring, he could feel her eyes on his lower extremities, and oh how they had a mind of their own when she looked at them. Taking a moment to make her ogle his rear view, he marched his butt straight into the bathroom, accentuating every move of his muscles. He closed the door behind him.

With an imaginary bucket of ice water Sakura gave herself a big mental shake, coming out of her daze. "Asshole." She staggered out of the bed, swearing about how tender her legs and their in between were, and nearly melted on her way to the bathroom to have a second meet and greet with the muscles she remembered seeing. She wanted to watch how they rippled beneath Itachi's bronze skin.

XXXX

The sun was high in the sky when the pair emerged from their quarters. Both were well manicured and groomed, wearing appropriate clothing and attire. Today was yet another big day for Sakura. She faced Konan in her initiation match today.

Nothing could have better prepared her then the workout she had last night... that much was for sure. With a confident pep in her step, Sakura nearly bounced down the hall to the courtyard, Itachi trailing just behind her. She reached the end of the long, dark hall with relative ease, and threw the door open to reveal the nearly sizzling ground.

With Kisame practicing his Taijutsu in North-West corner of the yard, the pastel kunoichi took her time preparing herself. On the front wall, Sakura found a seat on some old wooden apple crates where the shade hadn't been diminished quite yet. Taking off his cloak, Itachi leaned against the wall beside her, sticking his perfect nose into the dry sky.

The sound of birds chirping all around, the wind blowing ever so slightly, Kisame's hard, blunt kicks and punches against the wooden posts, and Sakura's few movements settled his nerves about the day ahead. He had to admit it, at least to himself. Konan was a good match for Sakura, and he was on the fence about who the winner might be. Itachi's confidence was in Sakura though, because he really needed her to win.

On the apple crate, Sakura pulled her boots as high as she could, made sure her cloves were nice and tight, and she checked all of her weapons. She was pretty damn set for this morning's competition. The door slammed open, revealing a grinning Pein and a stoic Konan in stride.

"Ah, Sakura-Chan! I trust you had a good night's rest in preparation for today?" Lord Pein-sama looked down at her in a demanding tone, as if waiting on her answer.

Sakura's sheepish smile nearly told the whole story. Her eyes wandered to Itachi, who grinned and looked at the ground. "Well, honestly Pein-sama, I didn't get much sleep at all, but I am prepared." Sakura tried to wipe the blush from her cheeks.

Lord Pein looked taken aback at her response. It was out of the ordinary, "Hm, I see. Well, let us get started then. No time to waste." Pein answered, his eyes lingering on her neck, where there was a small love bite that Itachi made her leave unhidden.

The four proceeded to walk into the fiery light above them, where the only escape was underneath the colossal oak tree protruding near the wall of the courtyard. "Kisame!" Pein hollered, jabbing his finger toward the door leading back into the cavernous building. Fish face nodded, grabbing his cloak and walking back into the darkness of the base.

"While we're alone, let me get something straight, hm?" Lord Pein-sama looked back and forth between Itachi and Sakura, who were standing side by side. Itachi's hand hovered next to hers, ready to hold it at a seconds notice.

"Hai?" Sakura mused, her face perplexed in an odd way. Her fingers twitched, the index reaching out to brush Itachi's hand.

Konan looked at their hands, next to each other, and she laughed. "How…cute." Her face twisted in a maniacal way, and yet, she was still attractive. Sakura could see her tongue playing and swiveling the piercing through her lip.

Pein-sama noticed as well, and a wide, deceiving smile spread across his face. "You're sleeping together." Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but Pein held up a hand. "Ah ah ah, let me finish my dear. Sakura Chan..." he paused to think over his words, and the dimple in his chin became apparent while he pondered; "now you must be pretty confident that you'll become a part of my organization, otherwise I don't think you would have let Itachi touch you. Unless of course he raped you, "pause again, and he could see the anger rising in Itachi's eyes. "But I don't think that could be true according to the sounds coming from your chamber door last evening. Anyway, Sakura my little kunoichi, you must win in order to stay with your beloved Uchiha-san. I hope you know what you're doing…" Pein's smile faded as he folded his hands together before him, and the rest of Akatsuki joined the quartet in the yard.

All the boys were there, and together they all wondered over to the area where the tree stood mighty, and made themselves comfortable, including Itachi, who whispered a blissful, "Good luck, if you win, you'll get a nice present later." And he kissed her hair without another word.

Deidara stepped out from his place to the edge of the circle, "Today we gather here to witness the match pitting Akatsuki kunoichi Konan against Medic kunoichi Sakura. If Sakura should win this match, she will move on to the final round, and hopefully onto becoming the official Medic for the Organization Akatsuki. Sakura, what are the rules of this match?" he asked aloud.

Sakura put her hand on her hip and held the other one up, putting up a finger for every rule. "To defeat Konan, her ninjutsu and genjutsu, and to capture the bird, using only my ninjutsu, senses and genjutsu. And I cannot kill her." She hollered, looking ever so unfortunate. In all honesty, Sakura just wanted to get this over with.

Deidara smiled, holding his palm up to reveal the small clay bird hopping all around. "And there's no killing my birdie, either, I want him back, alive, please!" he shouted, sticking his long pink tongue out for the girls to notice. When they nodded in return and rolled their eyes, Deidara threw it into the air, "Begin!"

Sakura was off of her feet faster than anything, racing for the opposite wall of the compound. The bird had flown right in front of her, toward that wall. Konan had just disappeared in a whirl of tiny square papers. It looked like Kiba's locker spilled onto the floor like it sometimes did at the Academy when they were much younger.

On the wall before Sakura, paper flowers began to cover its surface, leaving her with the perfect clues. Sakura knew Konan's ability was to manipulate and use paper mache' in her technique, and Sakura had the perfect, easiest counter.

Back before Naruto joined up with Jaraiya-sensei and Yamato-senpai taught Naruto about which element he was, Sakura had listened. She completed the same exercises and discovered her inner-relationship with water, and her little knack for Earth and Wind elements too.

In her beautiful display of petals, Sakura disappeared, and the air was still, not a sound or movement anywhere. Even the paper flowers quit blooming before the empty ground. Itachi looked up, and from the sky, a rain-drop fell on his nose. It seemed that when he wiped it away one hundred more fell. Before they knew it, everyone was drenched in monsoon-like rain. Everyone except Itachi and Pein-sama could barely see. Only their special eyes allowed them sight to the match.

Sakura was in the middle of the field, holding her hands above her head and pointing the massive water whip above her head. Konan's paper mache' was no good, and Sakura was definitely going to win this. Such power was unbelievable to Pein-sama. Sakura held so much control, over everything.

Itachi smirked wildly, amazed with Sakura's control. She had made the monsoon rain, and above her was a giant whip made of water, and she controlled it with a glowing green chakra around her right hand. Even the little clay bird was beginning to distort oddly, its clay being torn from it as the rain pelted it harder.

From the wall, Konan burst out, clutching her throat and staggering, her skin the color of ink. She held a hand out to Sakura, and tried to reach for something but the indigo woman couldn't get a grip on anything. Her skin was like wet paper, and the rain she dripped was a dark, inky blue.

Laughing aloud, with a huge smile, Sakura thrust her right hand at the other woman, and the water-like whip tightly grabbed the kunoichi and held her tightly. The pinkette was drenched, but she wasn't letting up until this was actually over.

Quickly sighting the small bird barely hobbling around on the ground near a jagged rock where it could get partially dry, Sakura bolted toward it and with her left hand she made a hand sign and breathed "Earth Style: Earth Prison Jutsu!" and up around the bird went the dirt, walling it in before it could run away. Even if Sakura hadn't been discreet about it, the bird would never have noticed her coming toward it with the force and noise this rain was creating. An excellent camouflage on Sakura's part.

Instantly, the rain stopped, and the sky opened once more. "Well, um…I'm pretty sure that's game. Sakura just ass-raped and skull-fucked this match. Damn." Deidara said, with one finger in the air and a slight frown.

Letting Konan down from her grasp, Sakura waved to Pein-sama and grabbed Itachi's arm. Together they disappeared into the depths of the chilly building. Both of them were soaked to the core, and their clothes hung from their bodies with the heavy weight of the water absorbed in them.

XXXX

Closing the door to their chamber, Itachi grabbed Sakura by the waist and yanked her up onto him, and she complied with him, wrapping her legs around his waist and throwing her arms around his broad shoulders. Their mingled motions were urgent and reckless.

Hot kisses trailed down Sakura's neck as Itachi set her rump on the cold sink counter while he nearly ripped his cloak from his body. Then his shirt, and before he could take his pants off, Sakura's hungry lips crashed onto his, and her hands found his chest, and she trailed her own wet fingers over his slick skin.

Shuddering, Itachi held her hands away from him for a moment, and made some sort of motion that told Sakura to start stripping or else. Neither needed words, just actions. He reached back to turn the shower handle sideways, yet half way turned back to Sakura, Itachi found himself being shoved roughly back into the cubicle and his fists gathered tightly in pink silk.

The water started spurting out and it felt very strange to still have clothes on, so the raven-headed man began to wriggle out of his pants and boxers. The woman pressed against him was still clothed, as well, and Itachi found himself thinking that clothes were very inappropriate at the current time.

Having this delicious man pulling her shirt straight over her head made Sakura's skin crawl in a wonderful way. His hot, we breath at her neck, his hands running panicked all over her body made her not just water wet…

A growl escaped Itachi's already swollen lips after his obsidian eyes set themselves on Sakura's naked form, dripping wet, hair soaked and pin straight, tiny droplets running over her perfect, round, breasts, and slipping over her lips. Those jade eyes staring straight back at him. All of it made him burn hotter.

Standing before him, Sakura could see the need in his eyes, and without taking her eyes off of his, she slipped her hand over him, making one knee give out, and a pleasing moan erupt from his throat. This made Sakura's face bare a bright smile. Slowly, she sank to her knees and guided him into her warm, wet mouth.

Hardly standing, Itachi locked a fist in her hair, slapping his free hand back against the wall for support, where he also let his head bob backwards. Gasping at her ministrations and the feel of her tongue gliding all around him in a blissful pattern, the Uchiha's breathing became ragged and loud. Moans mingled with every breath, his palm began to press the pinkette's head into him a little more with each buck of his hips.

After a few more minutes of sensual sucking, Sakura could feel his pulse quickening, and the tall frame of his body was thrashing and squirming more. He was watching her through half open eyes. Knowing of his upcoming release, Sakura took her mouth away from him and brought up a hand to pump him harder and faster, squeezing with each thrust.

With eyes shut tight, Itachi's breath caught in his throat, until he could finally moan out, "God, don't stop." And proceeded to gasp for air. This made Sakura's smile broaden, and she licked the very top one more time, bringing her fingers up and only touching the very tip in an expert way. With this, Itachi grabbed himself with the hand he held Sakura with, and nearly choked on air while he could no longer contain his release.

Sakura caught every bit of it on her chest, and smiled in awe at what she had just made him do. She couldn't stifle the giggle that came from her pink lips. When the man before her came down from his high, her tongue darted out to lick the last drop from him.

When she finally stood up, Itachi was sort of slumped against the wall, his long fingers still gripped around his dying erection. His eyes were ablaze, and when he, at long last, caught his breath, Sakura saw a flash of danger in his eyes.

"Itachi-kun…?" she asked innocently, knowing he had no intention of actually hurting her. "What is that look for?" she questioned, beginning to back out of the shower, having rinsed her breasts of his semen before hand.

In an instant, Sakura's petite body was slammed against the wall where Itachi had just been, and his lips threw some words into her ear that made her melt, "It's my turn to taste you." He breathed on her skin, letting his tongue trail down her jaw, to her neck, to the valley between her breasts, stopping to nuzzle each one with his lips. It then continued down to her stomach, and Sakura watched with delight as he went farther south.

Pinning her body against the wall, Itachi got down onto his knees, throwing her legs over his shoulders, and used one hand to spread her legs farther apart. Knowing she was near horrified at the thought of him tasting her for the first time, Sakura tried to squirm away, but Itachi held her still.

"Itachi-kun, you don't have to do-" A hand flew up to settle over her mouth. With a crooked smirk, his eyes flashed Sharingan red for just a moment before he brought his hand back down to spread her folds. Slowly, his lips hovered just above her cavern, and rather then getting to the best part, the Uchiha brought a finger up to rub her a bit. He went slowly, over the sensitive nub a few times.

After a moment, Sakura's eyes closed and she mewed pleas to him, and when she least expected it, his tongue stroked it softly, eliciting a loud moan from Sakura. Her eyes glared down at him, cheeks red as tomatoes.

Over and over again, Itachi ran his long, talented tongue up and down, darting into her sweet cavern here and there, but mostly suckling on her clit, working her tight space with two fingers. The woman's small hands were tangled wildly in his midnight tresses, and her moans became louder.

Beginning to feel her tighten around his fingers, Itachi knew she would orgasm soon. Sakura begged him to go faster, whispering his name once or twice. Her eyes opened to look down at him masterfully working her body to the brink.

"I-Itachi…I, I'm goi-" the medic Nin breathed before Itachi delved his fingers deeper within her, touching her G spot and making her cry out with ultimate pleasure. Her back arched out, and through her contracting, Itachi slid his fingers slowly in and out still, making sure he covered them completely with her delicious juices.

Blinking and breathing heavily, Sakura looked down at him with a relieving sigh and gently stroked his hair. She watched with a hard swallow as he brought his fingers out of her and stuck them in his mouth. Nothing could ever turn her on as much as Uchiha Itachi did.

The pair watched and helped one another finish showering, and when the bathroom was finally so humid neither could breathe properly, Itachi brought a hand down over the handle and the water stopped. By this time, after seeing her shake and convulse, Itachi was ready again, his erection standing tall and craving her touch, kiss, and womanhood.

Sakura knew what he wanted, and she very obviously didn't mind, because she couldn't keep those bright jade eyes off of what lurked just below his waistline. "Bed." Itachi demanded, and smacked her ass when she ran off as fast as she could without slipping and her ass colliding with the white tile covering the floor.

After her, Itachi turned off the bathroom light and left the door open, sauntering completely nude toward her with the sexiest, darkest look in his eyes. He was dripping wet Sakura duly noted, and her eyes traveled from his eyes to his dark, generous lips, where his tongue came out to lick them, and down to the space where his hair was plastered to his neck, his beautiful, unmarked neck. Sakura noted she would have to change that here in the next few minutes. On her eyes traveled, to his chiseled chest, to his sculpted abs, back up to his gorgeously large, toned arms, and she followed his left one in particular down to where it stroked another large, very nice muscle. She gulped hard, feeling her lips twitch with a smile.

Haruno Sakura never would have thought she's be having the best sex she ever had with Uchiha Itachi, brother of the man with whom she thought she would be having said sex with. This made her laugh. Bringing her out of her daze, Itachi had finally reached the edge of the bed, where he stood frozen before her.

"Do you want me, love?" Sakura asked in the most seductive voice she could muster with the god-like being standing right in front of her. Rather than answering, Itachi's hand reached out to stroke her cheek, and he directed his penis at the entrance of her mouth.

"Yes." Whispered the male, leaning his hips toward her. Sakura pulled him closer, grabbing his butt and covering his manhood with her lips. As he moaned once, the girl thrust him deep into her without choking.

A throaty growl escaped Itachi's lips, and he yanked her off of him, grabbing her hips and tossing her gently into the middle of the bed, where he quickly crawled on top of her and sat up on his knees. "Sakura, darling…I am going to fuck you until you can't walk. I want you so bad it hurts, and I have one request." He cocked his head sideways, casting a glance at her creamy skin beneath him.

Lifting a perfectly manicured brow, Sakura asked what his request might be. Uchiha Itachi reached down and kissed her light and gingerly on the lips, deepening it within seconds. When he pulled away finally to find air, the pair's eyes locked, and he said, "I want you to scream for me. I want the whole compound to know .mine." and Sakura blinked, jade orbs nearly rolling back into her head.

Pink hair whipped back and forth with the fast, rough nod of her head, having a domino affect and thus having Itachi grab her hips and flip her onto her stomach. Pulling her up onto her knees, Itachi smiled wildly as he reached around and pinched Sakura's perky breasts. While she leaned down and spread her legs wider for him, Itachi positioned himself at her entrance.

Moaning for him to enter her, Sakura bucked backwards at him, touching his had to her core. Both made a sound, and Itachi growled, grabbing her ass with one hand and ramming himself inside her tight space.

For the rest of the day, and well into the evening, the pair seemed to work work work. The only time it ever stopped was when Itachi wandered into the kitchen to retrieve some well-deserved snacks for himself and Sakura. Both had a monstrous appetite, but after Sakura suggested that Itachi fill her with himself as opposed to filling her with food, the apples, milk, and corn chips were left untouched for the remainder of the night.

* * *

Well, here you are. A nice, long, hopefully wonderful lemon.  
Maybe that'll help say how sorry I am it took me nearly a year to update?  
Again, gomen-sai. D:  
R&R is lovely.  
I hope to have another chapter up soon.  
Love,

Razega.


	10. Finale

Things Change  
Chapter 9  
"Finale"

Although having the best sex of her life was fantastic and was simply all she could think about for the last few hours, Sakura's mind was starting to buzz with the curiosity of the soon-to-come morning's events. Laying there wrapped in bloody silk, she watched the distinguished light of the number blocks telling her it was four twenty two am; and at four forty-five she would have to start preparing. Her opponent for this match was unknown to her, but whoever it was she was willing to face if she meant she could stay with Itachi. Listening to the sounds of the birds beginning to chirp in the cool, crisp September morning, Sakura decided a long, hot shower was necessary to calm her sudden nerves.

Proceeding to the bathroom, Sakura dragged the shower handle down and suddenly recalled the events that recently happened in this shower, only to make her pale cheeks redden. A smile and a giggle presented themselves, and just as she was stepping under the warm showerhead she heard the obnoxious beeping of the alarm, and with a blunt slam the sound was deceased. Sakura knew Itachi was up, and she waited for him in the shower, only for him to walk through the opened door moments later, open the shower door, and give her a half crooked half sleepy smile.

Sakura pecked him on the lips, and continued to wash herself, as Itachi did. Together, they finished bathing and dressing to the point where both were out the door and headed down that long, not-so-dreary hallway to the courtyard. There were no lights when the pair emerged before a waiting crowd. The rest of Akatsuki was present and accounted for, and all Sakura could see were silhouettes and eyes, all huddled by that massive oak.

Pein's eyes were the brightest from the front of the crowd, and he stepped forward with someone clinging to him. His partner's eyes opened to reveal a piercing brown, and by its womanly figure gave her identity to Sakura. Pein shot a look at the man standing behind Sakura and Itachi never moved, not a wink. The pinkette looked behind her to see the bright red of the Sharingan looking over her head, and followed it back to realize Pein and Itachi's eyes were locked. Perhaps they were in some sort of inner conversation, but how could that be possible, she wondered.

"Sakura…do you know what you have to do this morning?" Pein asked her with a vicious smirk. He was glowering at Itachi still, and Sakura thought for a split second something far worse was going to happen today.

Realization dawned on her who her opponent was, and sheer dread shot across her beautiful face. "No…" she said, still skeptical. Her sharp jade eyes looked from man to man, and after a choking pause Pein finally looked down at her.

When Sakura turned around Itachi's head was down, and when he opened his eyes to look at her, they held no lies. Pein suddenly dispersed and was back by the tree. Sakura moved to watch him and when she did, Itachi stepped back a few paces, and nodded at Kisame.

When the pinkette turned around to tell Itachi how much of a no-good rotten scoundrel Pein was, his eyes told her he was sorry he had to do this. Then, he attacked her.

Itachi came running at her head-on and in the dark it was so hard to see him. Sakura felt as though this were a dream, and continued to do nothing but watch until she felt the same pain she once had in her left arm. Blood began to seep through her cloak, and the sudden impact of reality came crashing down on her.

Gasping for air in the dark, Sakura calmed her nerves and stood deathly still, not making a sound, and closed off her mind to everything except her ears and her skin. Now, there was nothing to do but wait.

Several seconds of nothing passed, not even a sound. Until to her left she heard a very faint footstep and her skin felt him there, low to the ground. Sakura suddenly pivoted to face where he just missed the back of her kneecap and she was just fast enough to grab the back of his cloak collar and use her superhuman strength to yank him back.

She wanted to see his face, but she couldn't see anything but his eyes, which dispersed into crows along with the rest of his fabricated shadow clone. Frustrated, Sakura growled in protest at his mysterious cat and mouse tactics. In her anger she sensed a figure behind her a little ways, and she shot toward it with the speed Rock Lee had once helped her develop.

Nothing, and again with a shadow, this time Sakura using a kunai. She wanted nothing more than to take his hand and make it all stop. Her head was spinning too fast, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. This was a sick, twisted, and cruel joke, and Sakura was losing her patience.

Itachi moved into her blind spot, and again, hit her in the arm. This time a cry of pain tossed itself from Sakura's throat, and she clutched at the certainly forming bruise. She didn't want him to see that she was healing herself, but she couldn't get away with that unless she gave herself away like a glow-stick in the night. Sakura was ready to end this.

The Uchiha could see her perfectly, and knew it was time to act. He played as though he heard footsteps all around him, and stood deathly still and closed his eyes. Sakura held her breath as she silently raced randomly around the courtyard, waiting for his signal…the spinning eyes.

As soon as Itachi opened his eyes, she darted toward the cluster of Akatsuki members watching this match, and as she did so, Itachi lit up his Katon Jutsu, spilling it in their direction to attack Sakura, and Kisame knew what to do. The rest of the group looked at Itachi's face and it was too late.

His Tsukiyomi was sucking them in, just as the trio had planned. Itachi had been training relentlessly to perfect taking this many people into his world of torture. Focusing on pitting them all against each other, Itachi felt big hands grab him by the collar and throw him onto their back. He knew it was Kisame, and the only words he could manage through his intense focus were "Where's Sakura?"

"She's right here and she's mad at you." Kisame laughed. With Itachi on his back and Sakura running right by his side, Kisame leapt over the courtyard wall and began to pump iron into his legs.

"Get us to Sanhoi and I'll take it from there, but we've got to ditch the cloaks." Sakura said, carrying the large travel sack Kisame had before he carried Itachi. As of this moment, the three were headed to Sanhoi, where they would start anew.

When Sakura first came to the compound, she knew something was going on other than what certain members had led her to believe. Not only did Pein want Sakura to be a part of Akatsuki, but he also wanted her to get rid of an ever-present rebellious pest; Uchiha Itachi.

X

However, Kisame and Itachi had together explained the situation to Sakura late one evening after asking Tobi to slip some sleep drugs into Pein and Konan's drinks so they could have time alone with Sakura. That sick bastard Tobi pervertedly agreed, thinking they needed her for more sultry services.

Pein thought Itachi had been taking too long on his missions lately, coming back to the compound later and later each time, sometimes even an entire day late. The Uchiha's excuses were very believable, but after it became a routine type of thing, he sent Konan out to see what he was up to and found him consorting with some Rogue Leaf Nin secretly.

After this, Pein had decided it was time for a new, deadly-skilled ninja to come in and take his place. Sakura had been the choice, and Itachi decided to take care of her personally as to tell her the truth. He told her that technically she was saving his life.

After explaining things to Sakura, she asked them why he had been consorting with the Rogue ninja of her own village. Itachi then proceeded to truthfully let her in on his upcoming battle with his younger brother. From there she understood.

X

The group of the three quickly ran the few miles to Sanhoi, the tiny, peaceful farming village down the mountainside. Itachi was still on Kisame's back, focusing on his ridiculous jutsu. Sakura was leaping over the ground, her feet barely touching the ground. It was definitely still early morning, as there were only a few villagers about, starting their days and bustling around in their locked shops for a bit before it was time to open. Kisame stopped when Sakura did, asking her, "Where to now?"

The medic nin was thinking where to go. She sent out a quick chakra flux to find the source of energy she was looking for. After finding the signal of chakra she had been searching for she began to spring in its direction. "She's over this way, in that building. Take Itachi and go around the back. I'll meet you down there in ten minutes." Sakura whispered, darting herself up the stairs, and digging out the key she remembered was still in her kunai pouch; she slowly knocked and opened the door.

A tiny, magenta-haired girl was sitting up in her bed, looking horrified toward the door. Once Sakura peeked her head in, her face softened and lit up with excitement. "Oh, Rin, thank god you're safe!" the woman whispered, coming in and closing the door. "Listen sweetie, we're leaving, and you're coming with me. I'm going to teach you how to be a medical ninja like me." Sakura smiled at her, noticing the books stacked next to the bed, all familiar medicinal herb books Sakura had read years before.

"Really? You mean it Sakura?" the magenta-haired girl asked, smiling even wider. Her lilac eyes shone in the sun beginning to peek over the horizon. She hopped out of bed, going over to her dresser and pulling out some clothes. Deciding it was smart, Rin pulled out some yellow stockings, black shorts, and a black elbow length shirt. She also pulled on a pair of sky blue long gloves that made it up to her biceps. She sat down on the floor, and began to pull on her clothes.

Sakura knew where her shoes were, but when she went into the closet, found a pair of long black boots, and told Rin to slide those on over her stockings. The tiny girl stayed quiet with a nod and did as she was instructed. After completing the wardrobe, Sakura threw her medical books into a knapsack hanging in the closet, and grabbed a few pairs of Rin's undergarments for her, and her brush. Then, they were out the door.

"Where are we going Sakura-chan?" Rin asked, holding her hand. Sakura smiled, continuing to sprint down the stairs of the old dorm, and explained, "When I was taken away, I went to a place where I was helping someone escape from a bad man. I'm sorry I left you, Rin. Forgive me?"

Rin looked up at Sakura and smiled, but had a different, deep thinking face, saying, "Sakura-chan, I thought you died. In your memory I wanted to teach myself medicine and I was going to try to bring you back from the dead somehow; but you're back now, and we can be together! And I can become a medic ninja just like you!" she spouted, turning the corner with her dearest friend's hand. Sakura held back the smallest tears of happiness, "Thank you, Rin." She softly spoke.

The two girls turned the corner around the back, and found Kisame sitting there with Itachi nearly passed out on his back. "Kisame, Rin. Rin, Kisame." Kisame grinned and waved, and Rin, slightly terrified, smiled. Though they had to hurry, Kisame kneeled down and held out his hand to Rin in a high-five motion. The young girl, perplexed, slowly reached her teeny hand up to smack his with a big force. "Hi." Kisame whispered with a small smile.

"Kisame, we need to move, now." Sakura said, looking toward the east. "We need to head toward away from Konoha for now. Later we will come across the Village hidden in the Mist, and I believe I can count on you to get us in and somewhere safe where we can get this together and Itachi can rest while I take Rin out to find some clothes and food." The shark-man nodded at her, adjusting Itachi on his back, and heading off in the direction of his home land.

Along the way, the sun was coming up, and Rin stayed quiet until she found appropriate. She was smart, and she knew how to ask the right questions, "Sakura, chan, Kisame-sama, I know we're headed toward the Mist Ninja Village, but why are we leaving? Where are we going and why?" she said.

"We're running away from the place where I got captured, sweetie. It's not safe there, and we're going to start a new life somewhere safe and peaceful so I can teach you to be a medic ninja like me. That is what you want, isn't it?" Sakura asked her.

"Yes, but I don't understand why it's happening." She said, "And who is that man passed out on Kisame-sama's back?"

"That's the man I helped escape from the bad man, and I will explain it to you more when we get somewhere safe and we can get something to eat, and some new clothes for you, alright?" Sakura wasn't going to let Rin out of her sight, and she made an internal pact with her inner to never let anything bad happen to her ever again. She would protect that girl for the rest of her life, or die trying. This was Sakura's new family, and she was not going to let any harm come to them.

Time passed and by twelve noon the troupe was arriving in Kirigakure. Rin would be fine by herself, nobody would notice her. In the woods about a mile outside the gate, Kisame set Itachi down, who was now asleep, and used a transformation jutsu on himself to become a normal child, along with Rin. Sakura made herself a hat from some of the dead grass and used a jutsu to change the color of her hair, going from the outstanding and odd pink, to something a little more subtle, black. She then threw some dirt on Itachi and stashed his and Kisame's robes into her sack, and carried Itachi on her back.

The group walked into the village, disguised and unnoticed except a quick glace from few people here and there. Kisame led them to the nearest hotel that he knew of, and acted as a child, asking Sakura for candy. "A room with two beds for the night please, we're on traveling vacation, and heard Kirigakure had amazing spas." She smiled devilishly, making small talk with the desk keeper.

"Certainly, here you are." The older woman said, handing Sakura a set of keys and taking the proper ryo from the raven-haired Sakura. The group hurried up the steps to their room, and Sakura dumped Itachi on the bed, deciding to take another shower. Kisame and Rin sat on the tiny couch and Kisame began to explain things to the young girl.

"Rin, the man I worked for was going to kill my best friend," he said, pointing to Itachi's sleeping form. "He wanted to kill him because he was talking to some people from Sakura and his Village, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and it became a big problem with our boss. I couldn't let him kill him, so we ran away, and here we are starting a new life, trying to survive right now."

Rin understood everything Kisame had just told her, but still didn't understand why it was happening. Why had his best friend been talking to a village he didn't want to be a part of anymore, and why was that such a big problem with their boss. She figured she would leave those answers to be revealed when the time was right. "So, right now we need to find stability, then we will figure out what to do from there?" she asked.

Kisame smiled, and still in his child form, patted her head. "Yes. You're very smart Rin. Sakura is very proud of you. You know it was her idea to come back for you. She told Itachi and I many times about you and how you want to become a strong, skilled medical ninja like she is." He smirked, standing up to release his jutsu.

"Yes, I do. She was going to start teaching me, but then that man right there," pointing to Itachi, "took her away one day. But…I guess it was for a good reason. Sakura helped him, so he must not be a bad man." Rin also stood up to walk over to the tiny kitchen's sink to splash some water on her face.

Kisame smiled, walking over to sit on the edge of the free bed. "You know, Rin, Sakura once even beat me in a battle. She is very skilled, and you will become an astounding student of a great master. Did you know she was the apprentice of Tsunade-Hokage, the Fifth, before she died?"

"No, I didn't! That's so exciting. I had heard many good things about the Village Hidden in the Leaves from Sakura, and about the Hokage's, like her friend Naruto, but I never knew that." Rin's eyes suddenly darted toward the door and smiled, thinking of her sisterly caretaker.

"Oh, and Rin…" Kisame said, pointing to Itachi, "He is not a bad man at all. He may seem like it, but he is very nice. He cares for Sakura very much, as he will come to care for you, too."

* * *

MEH! GOMEEEENNNNN-SSSSAAAAAAAAIIIIII! D: D: D:  
Please please please accept my apologies for it being absoluetly unlawfully and unneccesarily WAY to freaking long since my last update.  
whew. But anyway; here it is. I know it;s not that great. I've been having trouble with the sequence of things. poo.  
hopefull another update soon before the new semester starts. Happy Holidays! :D  
with love, Razega-chan. xoxo.


	11. A Day in the Mist Village

Things Change  
Chapter 10  
"A Day in the Mist Village"

A pale arm reached out to touch the dirt-ridden face of a killer. "Uchiha, wake up. Wake up, Itachi." A woman's voice whispered and long lashes fluttered open to reveal crimson pools. Sakura's lips twisted in a small smile as she idly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She let out a small sound of content.  
Itachi's eyes adjusted to the pastel figure hovering over him on the edge of the bed, "Sakura…where are we?" he whispered, and began to slowly stretch and sit up in the big bed. After the first waves of his pounding headache passed, he breathed deep and his lack of alertness did not at first make him hear the sounds of his companion's snore.  
Sakura laughed a little, tearing her eyes away from his to look over at the sleeping Kisame spread out on the other bed, and a tiny girl sleeping against his back, also completely dead to the world at the moment. After another comfortable pause Sakura turned back to him, "We're in Kiri, on my orders, and I figured it best to wait until the day after tomorrow to move out again. We arrived at noon today and decided rest was best for now. You were in need of it most, so we have been here ever since. I went into town early, disguised of course, to get provisions for now. There is some left over Dango in the fridge for you, and I can quickly brew you some hot tea if you like while you take a shower. You're filthy, which is upon my hands I'm afraid. In order to help with disguises, I had to dirty you up some. Kisame and I were catching Rin up on what is going on and things like that, but we decided it would be best if we waited until you awoke before discussing matters of what is to come next. Those two have been asleep for a few hours, after taking showers and eating. We will all need the energy." Sakura said a mouthful, but it was necessary she figured. Of course Itachi would want to know every detail of exactly what happened after he fell into black sleep.  
Itachi looked at her face, cupped her cheek, and nodded. "Very well." Is all he said for the moment, slowly making his way to the fridge and just as he put his fingers on the handle, Sakura blurted out something.  
"Yes, it's Mitarashi dango, Itachi. I know you more than you think. Also, yes, I can make you some hot peach tea." She said, smiling, with her arms crossed. "What? You don't think I know you better than to let you enjoy at least the small luxuries in life such as favorite food and beverages?" Sakura laughed again, softly, walking up beside him to lean on the small counter-space in their petit kitchenette. Itachi said nothing, but held a guilty look in his eye for no more than a half-second before it slithered into something more devious.  
His hand slid around her waist, and for a fraction of a second, he felt like he should apologize for getting her into this mess. For telling her about the truth of Pein's intentions for her. He felt sorry that he was selfish. However, Uchiha Itachi then remembered that Uchiha's were always selfish, and doing whatever suited them best. He remembered that he was more selfish than ever when it came to the woman tucked between his strong arm and his body, and he also then realized that it would not suit him at all if she died. Just then, she broke his train of thought by brushing a strand of misplaced hair out of his handsome face. "While I shower, would you please allow me some of those luxuries, since it would be inappropriate to have the luxury of you right here and now, Sa-ku-ra?" Itachi cooed, kissing the top of her head and giving a small but troubled smile as he released her to march toward the bathroom menacingly. He left her there, entirely bewildered.  
In her half-embarrassment, Sakura's head snapped to the other bed, thankful neither of their company had been awake for that bit. Sighing to nobody in particular, Sakura smiled at the sound of the bathroom shower turning on, thinking its sounds were always peaceful, and she began to put her tea-making skills to work while she waited.

X

After his shower, and standing at the counter to eat his dango and drink some of his tea, Itachi sat down at the foot of their bed with Sakura and took in some of the details for a moment, just enjoying the peaceful silence. The white cotton of their beds, the worn, light blue carpet beneath his tired feet, the small shine of the wax overcoat on the oak countertops, and the palest of sage colored on the walls. The way Sakura's hair shined a silvery color in the moonlight streaming in from the window at their backs, and the pewter of the stone tea cup in his killing hands. He noticed the feminine, unmarred hand lying against the back of his own, and the slender fingers wrapped around another pewter glass that suddenly moved in a curved motion to a beautiful pale face, and deep jade eyes that made the real gem look like a jagged piece of limestone against their purely stunning color.  
However, something was different in the way she stared back at him, something lacking. She still looked happy, and her eyes were still sharp, not glazed over, but more droopy. There was not as much spunky personality emitting from her radiance. It dawned on the raven-haired man that she was nearly exhausted after staying up nearly all the night before in favor of endlessly blissful sex, fighting against him in a match, and carrying nearly 100 extra pounds of items on her back all the way from Sanhoi to Kirigakure, and then continued to stay awake through a hot shower and what Itachi could only assume as worry for him and care-taking of their small brigade. His hand reached for her shoulder, and as he leaned closer, Sakura fell forward slightly, leaning her elbows on her knees as she downed the rest of her tea and sat with her head between her hands, rubbing her temples.  
"Sakura, you need to sleep." Itachi pointed out; he was never a man in favor of delaying his point. His hand, after missing her dodged shoulder, directed itself to gently rub the small of her back in a circular motion.  
The pinkette sighed a heavy breath and stood to take their stoneware to the sink across the room, where she leaned her back on the counter once more and still let her head sag as she rubbed her temples, this time, putting the smallest amount of chakra into them as to help her flow and stay awake. "I can't. I have to stay awake if we want to get out of here sooner. I need to organize the packs again, figure out what we need to keep and what to leave behind. At sunrise I'll get breakfast, and when you all wake again, I'm taking Rin into town to buy clothes for her and whatever we need but don't have. Then the three of us," she said with a pause, pointing a skinny finger at the snorefish, "have to begin planning where we'll go to next, and then this time tomorrow night I'll be starting the pack for our travels while the rest of you get your rest. Don't worry about me." She said. Her eyes caught his for a moment and she gave him a false smile.  
Deciding to rather split the load, Itachi slowly began to undo the sheets, pulling them down on one side for him to slide into, and then, after locking eyes with her the entire time he moved, came to the other side of the bed and did the same. After this, he stalked to his Cherry Blossom and held her for a moment. With a hand against her back, and the other holding her chin up, he met her gaze and spoke, "No, you don't have to do all of that. Come to bed. In the morning, after sunrise, I'll go into town to get breakfast. While I'm out, you can figure out what we'll need from town, and after we've all eaten, you can take Rin and take your time getting what it is that you need. When you're finished, we will all have dinner again and then You, Kisame and I will sit down and discuss, while Rin neatly organizes the packs. Then we'll all get another good night's rest and set out in the morning. Let us help you, and don't think for a second that just because Rin is still young she will not be helping us with our journey. If she wants to become a ninja she needs to learn now before it's too late. Let her learn on the job, not after you think we've settled down enough for her to stay in one place. It will make it that much easier on her, and it will be helpful to have another ninja sooner." His words slowly sunk into Sakura's head, and she mumbled an accept.  
Exhaling, Itachi pushed Sakura's body closer into his, and her cheek lay against his bare chest. It was so warm and inviting to her, that she closed her eyes just for a moment, reveling in the comfort, never realizing that they didn't open again. Noticing Sakura's steady, even breathing, he chuckled to himself that she had fallen asleep standing up against his chest. Carefully scooping her up, Itachi carried her bridal style to the bed and placed Sakura in it on one side. Her pink hair was getting longer, threatening to begin cascading over her shoulders in a waterfall of tresses. Luckily for her, she was already in comfortable attire, lounging around after her shower in an extra pair of black spandex shorts and a grey camisole. Clad only in his baggy navy pants, Itachi kissed the top of her forehead and crawled into the bed beside her, gently pulling her shoulder to turn her over to face him. As soon as she felt his warmth, she unconsciously huddled her body closer to his. Just before he closed his eyes, Itachi realized that ever since Sakura began sharing a bed with him, Uchiha Itachi looked forward to sleep, and found himself getting better rest than he had in years. The usually stoic Uchiha then made himself comfortable and drifted off into a warm sleep, his strong arms wrapped around his favorite thing in the world.

X

_Chirp. Chirp, chirp._ The birds outside the window sang in the mid-morning sun, singing their songs of a new day. The first pair of eyes to peel themselves open were a pale lilac color, and a very small child emerged from the snowy blankets, and as she rubbed her eyes, slowly padded towards the bathroom of their room. Rin was usually an early riser due to Sakura usually waking up early when she stayed with Rin in Sanhoi before Itachi took her away. Sakura always told her the sunrise was one of her favorite things, a silent indulgence of peace for the new day. However, this morning, Sakura was still asleep, her cheek resting in the pit of the raven-haired man's shoulder, and her arm outstretched over his naked stomach. Rin found it odd that this man had dark hairs on his stomach in a straight line from his belly-button down to where the blankets reached his abdomen. Dismissing the thought, Rin also mused that Itachi was a very strange man to her, so this made sense.  
Reaching the bathroom, Rin went about her usual morning routine, as best she could. She figured that a shower would be a bad choice since she would just have to put her dirty clothes back on. Splashing some cold water on her tan face, the magenta-haired ninja-in-training decided it would be best to wait before going outside, no matter if it was even out the front door. Though, in the back of her mind, she really wanted to get Sakura some flowers from the stall outside their window.  
Just before she could slip her shoes on, Rin forgot that she had no money on her. It was all in Sakura's pack with her spare clothes. Kisame grunted just then, rolling over enough to fall from the bed and thump loudly on the floor. The snorefish, as Sakura had so kindly put it last night, sat up slowly, dragging his arms and feet to sit with his back against the side of the bed. Rin laughed a little.  
Kisame's head snapped in her general direction, but he held his head for a moment and dragged his fingers down his face, half smiling. "I guess you saw that, huh?" he said softly, and when Rin nodded with a broad smile, Kisame retorted, "What'll it take for you to keep quiet about my bad morning habits?" and rose to his feet.  
Walking toward him, the girl said something. "Make me French Toast for breakfast, please." She concluded. Kisame's shock and disbelief were ever present on his face. He looked away, chuckled, and looked back at her again. Shaking his head, he checked his hair in the mirror, tried to fix it some, and walked over to put his shoes on. Rin followed suit.  
"You drive a hard bargain, kid. We're going to have to go into town and get the right ingredients." He said, looking back at his partner and Sakura. Shaking out his whole body once, he made the correct hand seals for a transformation jutsu, changing his skin to Rin's color, and his hair to a dark red. He was already clad in black sweat pants and a black short sleeved shirt, so Kisame gestured to himself for Rin to decide if he was disguised well enough. Rin nodded and laughed.  
"We're off then" Kisame said, grabbing the girl up into his arms and placing her on his shoulders.  
Rin pulled his ear gently, "Wait" she said. "We have to write a note to let Sakura and Itachi-san know we went out." And she climbed down his back and her shoes made a '_tak_' sound against the wooden floor of the kitchen. The girl quickly sprang toward the nearest drawer, and luckily there she found a pad of paper and a pen. In her bubbly handwriting, Rin scribbled the note to her sisterly caretaker.  
_Sakura,  
Kisame fell off the bed this morning and asked me what it would take for me not to tell you, so I asked him to make me French Toast for breakfast. He's taking me into town to get the stuff for it. Be back shortly.  
Love, Rin._

Kisame crouched down with his back to her when she finished her note and politely put the pen back, and Rin climbed back onto his shoulders. The duo then proceeded quietly out the door to the nearest convenience market.

X

Slowly, a pair of crimson eyes opened to the world around him. It smelled like lavender and there was his usual female companion cuddled into the warmth of his side. Kissing her forehead, sea-foam eyes struggled to open completely as well, sighing and taking her time to stretch. Sakura and Itachi had finally gone to bed at eleven thirty, and now, the clock on the nightstand read nine thirty. The male in the bed figured ten hours of sleep was much needed for his mate. Now, however it was a new day and he remembered his promise to Sakura to go into town and get breakfast for their unusual family.  
Rising from the comforts of the hotel bed, and hearing Sakura's moans of protest from his getting up, Itachi moved to the bathroom to take his morning leak. While he was in dispose, Sakura slowly rubbed her eyes, yawned, and looked over at the other bed, where Kisame and Rin were…supposed to be. In a panic, Sakura threw the blankets off of her and stalked toward the kitchenette counter and was relieved to find the note in Rin's ridiculous scrawl. Reading it to herself, Sakura chuckled.  
"Itachi," Sakura called, 'Rin and Kisame went out to get breakfast, so you don't have to go, okay?" She hollered, tilting her head toward the bathroom. The door white door opened and Itachi emerged, running his bony fingers through his hair.  
Sighing, and walking straight for the fridge, Itachi replied the never dying traditional Uchiha "Hn." And continued to rummage through the cold box for something to drink. After finding nothing to his liking, he scooped Sakura up into his arms and threw Sakura over his shoulder, only to fling her down on the bed and clamber onto her petit frame. After settling down in comfortable positions, Itachi began to question Sakura's wants and desires for Rin, "What are we going to do with the girl, again. Back in the compound you said you were not sure. Have you thought more about it, Sakura?" he asked.  
The pink-haired medic looked up at him with thoughtful and sharp eyes. "Of course I've thought about it. I think it would be best if she is trained in ninjutsu and taijutsu before anything else, so while we're traveling she can at least fight. We just need to be cautious. Don't worry, she won't become a bother, she's smart. If she gets tired, I'll carry her, hurt, I'll heal her, hungry, I'll feed her. She is my responsibility." Sakura's tone was strong and protective, not to mention entirely sure of her decision. Those green eyes held no regret or worry.  
Running his hand over her hair repetitively, Itachi kissed her lips quickly, and pushed her head into his chest again, "I know she is smart, and that you'll take excellent care of her, but, she is part of this family, so she is all of our responsibilities. She's like a sister, or almost a daughter to you, Sakura, I know how much she means to you. You need not worry; I will have my watchful eyes on her as well." He whispered into her hair, making a small smile.  
Just as Sakura thanked him, the couple heard lour roars of laughter from outside their door, and Kisame burst forth, a magenta haired girl on his shoulder, telling a joke that the pair in the bed couldn't hear over their laughs. Kisame was still in disguise, and also holding a bag of groceries in his free hand. "Oi! You're awake!" He bellowed when he noticed Itachi and Sakura were both sitting upright, eyes wide and staring at them. "I'm making breakfast, want any? It's French Toast! I haven't had that in years!" Kisame said, marching over to the kitchen area and setting Rin down. Itachi and Sakura just looked at each other, blinked, and got out of bed without uttering a word.  
Rin began to dump the bag of groceries on the counter, and she instantly went for the box and read the ingredients and the preparation instructions, while Kisame took a pan out from the cupboard and turned the tiny stove on. "It says we'll need three eggs and two cups of milk in order to make ten pieces of French toast. For our family, I'd double that. I could eat five by myself, I bet." Rin said, jabbing a thumb at herself with a wide grin.  
Kisame laughed again, "Oh yeah? I could eat ten by myself. Itachi could probably only eat five, if he was starving. Sakura over there could put down more than he could." Pointing to the medic, who held a shocked and accused look on her face, pointing back at Kisame.  
"Now wait just a minute here! I can only eat three or four pieces of French Toast. Rin, there's no way you could eat five. Maybe three, if you were super starving and Itachi could surely eat five. I think twenty pieces of French Toast is plenty. In fact, while you two cook," she stuck out two fingers, each pointing at Rin and Kisame, "I'm going to figure out what we'll need from town. Rin, after breakfast, you and I will go into town and get you some new clothes and our supplies. Deal?" Sakura cocked an eyebrow at the younger girl. Her lithe arms folded over one another as she slumped her upper half onto the table and laid her head on them.  
Stretching, Itachi moved to get their packs, so Sakura could put them in order. Once she noticed this, her tired frame got up as well and she sank down onto the carpet to dump each bag out. Inside of her bag, there was Sakura's hairbrush, a box of tampons, three extra bras and three extra sets of undies. Only one change of her regular shinobi-wear, a toothbrush, some lotion, a wicker box of six soldier pills, twelve of her medicinal herb energy pellets, one three liter bottle full of water, her first aid kit, equipped with poison cures, needles of fighting agents, and some other special, Sakura-only medical knick-knacks, as well as three Akatsuki cloaks. Instantly she handed them to Itachi and told him to burn them, which he agreed to do without another word.  
From Itachi's, two extra pairs of boxer briefs, a small bottle of eye drops, two peaches wrapped in plastic, one two liter bottle of water, toothbrush, some bandages and three of four different kinds of ointment from burns to puncture-healing gel. A hairbrush resided inside of his bag also, along with a tiny ring with some extra hair ties on it and a suede sack with ryo in it.  
In Kisame's, a toothbrush, tiny comb, some hair gel, two extra pairs of undergarments, a liter, along with a small plastic carton of liter fluid, some grilling rods, bandages, and two two-liter bottles of water. For such a huge guy, Kisame didn't carry much.  
As for tiny Rin, her pack, the same size as the rest of their groups, consisted of three pairs of extra undies, a three-liter bottle of water, hair and tooth brushes, bandages, some extra hair ties, and three books on medicines. Sakura surely needed to buy Rin more clothes, and some other necessities.  
Coming back to the table, Rin was setting out plates while Kisame followed behind her, a French Toast laden platter between his hands. The group of unusual people came to sit with one another around the table, juice, butter and syrup passed around.  
A half-hour later, between idle chit-chat and lots of story-telling and arguing with Kisame done by Rin, their troop was finished, and Kisame and Itachi moved to get up and put the contents of breakfast away.  
"Rin, when will you be ready?" Sakura said, already over by the bed putting her shoes on. It was a nice day out in the Hidden Mist Village. One of those rare sunny days, where it would be okay for Sakura to enjoy shorts and a tee-shirt one last time before winter. She brushed the knots out of her hair quickly, and almost walked out the door before she made the adjustment of a disguise. Sakura also snatched up Itachi's shirt, which lay on the foot of the bed. Making her hand seals, Sakura's hair bled to black from the roots down, jet black.  
Laughing a little at the look of Sakura in tight black shorts, _his_ black shirt, black boots, _and_ with black hair made Itachi's eyes follow her a little longer than they should have, and out the door the girls went, leaving a laughing Kisame and a bewildered, half-tripped-over-his-jaw-on-the-floor Itachi, with a "standing" promise he would be good until later that night, when the others would be asleep.

X

Out and about in town, Sakura and Rin were enjoying themselves, looking from shop to shop at the clothes they could possibly buy for Rin. Nothing was too outstanding or bright, which is what they both knew Rin wanted. The feeling of Rin's tiny hand in Sakura's again made the elder unable to stifle a serene smile. She was happy to be with the little one, slowly taking their time to walk through the town.  
Sakura, on one hand, was enjoying her company, the feel of the sun warming her back for one of the last times before Autumn set in, and the feel of being in the Village Hidden in the Mist at her own accord. She was not on a mission, with no real time frame. She was allowed to gaze into certain shops for as long as she wanted to, and she was allowed to take her time stopping here and there for curiosities sake. Thinking to herself, Sakura was enjoying what time she could here before things got rough and times were spent all day on the run, looking for some place to start her new life with Itachi and Rin.  
Suddenly remembering that Kisame would not be part of their company for much longer, Sakura felt the need to write to him every now and then, while they were gone. Kisame would be going to the middle-most non-shinobi village between the Mist and Waterfall Villages, which would make his destination the small town of Kyuertou. This would become his home, where he would settle down by himself and enjoy the quiet life. Surprisingly, Kisame was secretly the type of man who wears glasses and sits down to read books about anything just because he likes to learn about it. He's into everything, interested in ready every page of every book he can find. He had sheepishly admitted to Sakura and Itachi one evening that he wanted to settle down alone and just collect books and train by himself and read all day and do whatever he pleased. Sure he might go out and rough up some rogue ninja every few weeks or so just to stretch his limbs, but he thought that the older he got, the more he was at his limit.  
"Sakura…Sakuraaaa!" Rin was calling, breaking her out of her dwelling of thoughts. "Sakura, can we go into this ship? I think this is where I want to get clothes from." Rin stated, gently pulling her sister into the big shop with colorful clothing.  
"I'm sorry, Rin. I didn't mean to daze off. I was just thinking about something. Hm? Oh, yeah, sure we can go in here, it looks beautiful!" Sakura mentioned, shaking her head a little and waltzing into the shop with the girl holding her hand.  
As the pair entered, Rin instantly caught site of a dress she wanted. Well, more like a top. It was a long open shirt that would make it to about Rin's hip in the color of bright Naruto orange. On it was a big yellow flower toward the stomach area, off to the right side. It also came with a yellow obi to match the flower, and Rin and Sakura both thought it was very Rin.  
At the counter, there was an elderly woman with blonde hair and sagging cheeks, but a gently smile. Next to her, was a younger woman, presumably her daughter, whom obviously chose the bright colors of the clothes, due to the several strands of hair in her pigtails that were different colors. She had hot pink, electric blue, a flashy purple, highlighter yellow and even dragon red. "Can we help you, ladies?" the younger asked, absent mindedly twirling a piece of hair between two fingers. This girl was insane, Sakura thought. She blasted with colors, from her outfit to her hair, and even to the unreal shade of her eyes and her unnatural color of lipstick. This diva, between all of it, had natural black hair it seemed, with her ridiculous colors in it, wide, piercing yellow eyes, white lipstick, a sickening pale shade of white for a complexion. Her wardrobe consisted of fishnets from shoulders to wrists, and even all the way down to her ankles, however, this woman was obviously not a ninja, Sakura mused to herself.  
"I'm Abanashi," she said. "Any questions or anything? I love your hair, cutie. It's a sick color, is that natural?" She asked, pointing to Rin. Over those fishnets, she had on an open all black mid-calf coat, which was tied with a white belt that was attached to it also. Under the coat was a skin tight strapless onesie that was cropped shorter than Sakura's shorts, in the color of neon green. In her mind, Sakura suddenly realized that the woman standing before her looked utterly hideous, especially with her orange ninja-sandals and matching nail and toe polish.  
Rin cleared her throat, explaining, "Yes, it is natural. I'm Hazani Rin, and this is Sakura. I'd like to try on that shirt over there, Abanashi-san." Without further hesitation, Sakura, with Rin in tow, and this Sour Patch woman, stalked over to the dressing room while the Light Bright took it from its place on the wall to hand it to Rin. "Thank you." Rin said, and turned without hesitation behind the curtain.  
"She's cute. She yours? Her father must have really wicked hair too, since yours is such a dark and awesome black." Abanashi said, continuing her meaningless talk of Rin and her cool hair color. It almost made Sakura jealous and envious that she was not able to show her true hair color at the moment. And, also, it made Sakura's other thoughts of father's and children of her own. Rin's hair color could very well be the result of Sakura's pink and Itachi's black. This thought made the natural pinkette smile, and she said, "No, she's my sister."  
Nodding, Abanashi waved and went back to her post at the register, "Let me know if you need anything else, Miss." She said. After being left alone to wait for Rin, Sakura decided she wanted some new clothes as well. Just as she was beginning to wander over to the women's clothing, Rin popped out from behind the curtain.  
"Tada! Sakura, I _love_ this, and, it fits me perfectly! Can I buy it?" Rin beamed, twirling over to her sister figure. She was giggling, and twirling around and around, her hair whipping with the turn of her head. Sakura also laughed, enjoying Rin's delight over the top.  
Sakura shook her head and reached into her pocket for some ryo, "Of course we can! Consider it yours, sweetie. We just need to get you some pants now, and a few other necessities, and maybe a new set of clothes for me, and we will be good in here. Then we can go onto the ninja shops and get you the proper gear." Sakura whispered with a smile.  
Lighting up like a beam of sunlight, Rin hugged Sakura quick and tight, and skipped over to the counter, where she had Abanashi cut the price tag off of the top and ring her up.  
While Rin was waltzing around, Sakura picked out a pair of skin tight black shorts in Rin's size, and her own. From there, she went over to the medical section and pulled out a khaki skirt much like her own. After she flung these over her arm, Sakura continued on quick and silent to the tops in the women's department. There, she saw a red zip-tank exactly like her own, along with the same tank in a hideous array of colors that hurt Sakura's eyes, just like everything else in the store.  
Closer to the front, Sakura had Rin pick out a few pairs of underwear for herself, and got a few for herself due to a sale, and another, black and red lacy bra she claimed she needed. Moving closer and closer to the register, Sakura and Rin stopped at a glove rack where Rin picked up a pair of light blue hand warmers that covered from her palm almost up to her elbow. Sakura took a pair of black gloves that went from her hands to her shoulders, like ANBU gloves.  
Closer still, Sakura picked up a pair of bright yellow thing high socks she thought Rin would like, and added those to their pile. Lastly, Rin told Sakura she liked the pair of Raspberry fishnet shorts that matched her hair, so she claimed them.  
Finally at checkout, Rin and Sakura paid the surprisingly cheap bill they acquired between all of their items, and headed over to the row of ninja shops. First, was the ninja gear shop, where Rin talked politely with the older gentleman selling his products. From him, she bought a raspberry colored kunai holder and a black saddle sack. This man tried to sell her a mist village headband, but Rin, trying not to give them away, told him she was from another village, and is buying these things for a friend.  
After that, they moved to the next shop, buying Rin her first weapons. Five kunai, eight shuriken, and fifteen senbon. Sakura had to explain to Rin that she was not ready for the giant shuriken on the wall behind the shop owner's desk after the young girl stared in awe at it for several minutes.  
Upon leaving that shop, it began to rain lightly, and the two women hurried to finish their errands at their final stop. Sakura was the one in first, and told Rin to wait quietly for her to quickly grab all of the items the men would need before they began their journey.  
"Sakura, I'm hungry now. When we get home, can we call for delivery to the hotel?" Rin asked, heaving the bag of ninja tools over her shoulder. Smiling down at the younger, Sakura agreed with a small pat to her own stomach, and paid for their things. Together, the girls walked back up the road to their hotel quickly. They were getting very wet, and made it inside the lobby just before a loud clap of thunder and the rain began to pour.  
Sakura and Rin both jumped and made little screaming sounds at the thunderclap, and then, after looking at each other with their hands clamped over their open mouths, began to burst out in laughter at one another.  
The girls climbed the stairs and Sakura knocked on the door of their room, calling, "It's us, let us in please. We're soaked." And the door opened to reveal Itachi holding a kunai against the back of his arm where neither female could see it. Surely the raven-haired medic knew it was there, and she smiled when he stood aside to let them pass. She also noticed how Itachi nearly couldn't pull his eyes away from the sight of Sakura's currently jet black hair clinging to her neck and her clothes clinging to her body as she sauntered through the apartment.  
To himself, Itachi thought, "This is going to be a _long_ night." As he shut and locked the door to follow the girls inside.

* * *

Yeah, yeah yeah. I know, I have not updated in forever.  
I know this is a stupidly long chapter, and I had planned on it being even longer.  
HOWEVER; due to it's insane length, I've cut it up.  
Sorry the ending in less detailed and such, the next chapter is going to be awesome so I've been extremely wrapped up in writing it.  
lol, let's just say Rin gets her you-know-what when Sakura isn't around. lol.  
by that I mean period, just f.y.i. lmao. It's going to be such fun. lawls. :3  
Read and Review please!  
(PSBTW; PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and review my drabble collection "Reaching the End of the Road" because it has no reviews. D:)  
Loves, Razega. 3


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